Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games
by SnowLucario
Summary: Thousands of years before, the children of Athens were sent into the Labyrinth to die. Now, in Panem, history is being repeated. In this winding, deranging, rearranging underground maze, tributes will battle starvation, dehydration, a Minotaur mutt, and each other for money, food for their district, glory, and, most importantly, THEIR LIVES.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue & SYOT form

Chapter 1: Prologue & SYOT Form

President Snow was sitting in his study, stretching out his back. At the age of sixty-three, his hockey days were definitely behind him. Now, his white rose resting on his left breast, he was waiting for the new Head Gamemaker to come in.

Finally, Head Gamemaker Johan Bainbridge came in. He was in his usual red-and-black suit, and was ready to tell him the news. "The arena is fully complete" he said.

"Excellent" Snow said.

"We're going to reap the tributes, train them and all that jazz, and then we'll be starting the Games!" Bainbridge said excitedly. Snow couldn't blame him. The Games excited him, too, although he tried not to let it show. As the president of Panem, he couldn't afford to show too much emotion. He didn't want to make people see him as another human being. He always had to look intimidating.

"Can you tell me about the arena, Head Gamemaker Bainbridge?" Snow asked.

"Nope. Surprise".

"Okay, Head Gamemaker Bainbridge. I'll see you when the Games start. Good-bye".

"Bye".

With that, Johan Bainbridge left the room. Snow looked at the tribute list.

 _Hopefully, these Games will be good,_ Snow said. _Or else, Johan Bainbridge is dead._


	2. Chapter 2: Reapings A

Chapter 2: Reapings A

 **Since I now have both tributes from Districts 1 and 2, I can now write this chapter. This will be the last one you get from me before I go away to camp, and this time I mean it.**

 **By the way, this is where my districts are located:**

 **Capitol: Western part of border between Colorado and Wyoming**

 **1: Southwestern California**

 **2: North-northwest of Capitol, maybe near Yellowstone National Park**

 **3: Silicon Valley**

 **4: Chesapeake Bay**

 **5: Southeast of Capitol**

 **6: Detroit to Chicago**

 **7: Alaska**

 **8: Upstate NY**

 **9: Nebraska**

 **10: Western Texas**

 **11: Deep South**

 **12: West Virginia**

 **13: Maine**

 **This deviates quite a bit from established canon, but it's my story, and I can do what I want with it. Here is my excuse: I live in New England. I'm more used to the locations here than those officially in the book, and I recently went on a trip to Alaska. Okay. With that cleared up, let's get started. Also, the boys are reaped before the girls here, unlike the books. Again, my story, my rules.**

~District 1~

It was early morning in District 1, and, as Horatio Jewel looked out at the sunrise over what used to be Santa Barbara, he thought about what he was getting into.

Today was the day of the reapings for the Sixty-Third Hunger Games. Horatio intended to volunteer for these Games. Since he was seventeen, this was the second-to-last year that he could do it. And it was first-come, first-served at the academy that he went to in order to train for the Games. He didn't want to miss his opportunity at fame and fortune.

Not that he needed the _fortune._ Because he lived in the luxury district, money was fairly inconsequential. Still, though, he wanted more. He wanted to be absolutely positive of his future, and he also wanted to be famous. That was something money couldn't always buy.

He was still in his reverie when his mother, Glitter, called him downstairs for breakfast.

* * *

Horatio picked at his food. He was so excited. Today was going to be the day that he would start on his road to fame and fortune. If he lost, he would be dead. But he _wouldn't_ lose. He'd been training for this his whole life, and defeat was not an option.

"Are you doing it today, bro?" Silvera, his younger sister, asked him.

Horatio nodded as he cut his pancakes, which were already quite thoroughly cut.

"I'm going to win. And then I'll get all the fame and fortune I could ever want!" Needless to say, Horatio was extremely enthusiastic and cocky. He didn't think there was any way he could fail. Because he was _born_ for this opportunity.

"Just make sure," his father, Peter, said, "that you're the first one up there. There are probably several boys your age who want to volunteer, too. Who wouldn't want to be rich and famous?"

"We already _are_ rich, Peter" his wife said.

"I know. But Horatio's going to propel us to the level of the people in the _Capitol._ Right, son?"

"Right, Father" Horatio said.

* * *

The first thing Elegance Elysia did on the morning of the Reaping was to go for a walk along the seaside vineyards in order to calm her nerves. This was it. All her life was leading up to this.

Today was the day she would volunteer for the 63rd Hunger Games. She thought of the Hunger Games like she thought of her own death (which, she didn't admit to herself, it was likely to be). All she could think about was the day it had happened. She thought back to the event...

* * *

They had been training at the District 1 Career Academy. It was a warm, sunny day, and they'd been doing their army crawls through the bush. Suddenly, there was a scream.

Elegance looked back. A woman, whom she recognized as her teacher, was lying, bloodied and unconscious, on the ground. Peacekeepers were flooding in, shooting at random. Elegance ducked behind a bookshelf and managed to avoid the bullets. But Elegance still had no idea why she was being killed.

Later, of course, she learned that her teacher, Mrs. Wine, was suspected of being involved in a rebellion against the authorities of District 1. Of course, since 1 was the wealthiest district, these things rarely happened, simply because the people didn't have any reason to rebel against a system that treated them so well. But she was always kind of a moralist, and she'd always lectured her students about how lucky they were to live in District 1. Ninety-seven percent of the time, if someone in her class was reaped, they would not have to enter the Hunger Games unless they absolutely wanted to. Mrs. Wine always told them about how they should enjoy their lives.

But now her life had been stripped from her. And, Elegance thought now, that was what was likely to happen to her. But she had to volunteer. She couldn't let her family down.

* * *

As the Jewels strode into the central square of District 1, they passed by sections of 12-, 13-, 14-, and 15-year-olds. This was how the square was set up during the Reaping.

Horatio and Silvera had to draw blood for identification, to make sure that they wee who they said they were. Then, Silvera gave Horatio one peck on the cheek for good luck before he walked into the section for 17-year-olds, with Silvera going into Section 16. The escort, a short man with brilliant yellow hair, was positioned next to the reaping balls.

After everyone had been packed into the square, he went into his usual lecture about the Dark Days and all that jazz about how they all owed the Capitol.

 _Fuck this,_ Horatio thought. _Let's cut to the chase. I'm going to be in the Hunger Games, and I'm gonna win. And nobody's gonna stop me!_

Finally, he was done, and then the escort called the first name.

"Lucas Weathers!"

A tall, skinny boy in the fifteen-year-old section with long dark blonde hair flinched. Just as the Peacekeepers were about to take Lucas Weathers away, Horatio stood to his full height of 6'4" and called out, loud and clear:

" _I volunteer as tribute"._

The Peacekeepers began making their way towards him now, too, but Horatio just said, "I'm okay, guys. I'm going straight up there".

Several other boys looked jealous of Horatio, so he raised his fist in the air. It looked like he was celebrating, but he was really trying to send the message:

 _I'm going to be in these Games. All you losers get to train for another year. Consider yourselves_ lucky.

Soon enough, Horatio was on the stage. The escort asked his name.

"I'm Horatio Jewel, and I'm going to kick the other tributes's asses!"

The entire crowd laughed at his cuss word.

When the laughing had finally died down, probably a good five minutes later, the escort drew a name from the other reaping ball.

"Our female tribute is...Marilyn Guilder!"

The escort had barely finished saying the name when a girl with flowing blonde hair called out, "I volunteer as tribute".

"Another volunteer! How unusual!" the escort laughed. Of course, he was joking. Career districts 1, 2, and 4 almost always had volunteers every year for the Games. People wanted to risk their lives for guts and glory. If they won, they got to move to the Victor's Village, a town that was wasted and alone.

Anyway, the girl was walking towards the stage, and the escort asked her name.

"It's Elegance. Elegance Elysia" the girl said."Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for...Elegance Elysia! And Horatio Jewel!" Tributes, shake hands!"

They did.

* * *

~District 2~

Margaret Malachi was eating breakfast with her family.

Her mother, Phillipa, was not in their little mountain villa with them. Since she was a Peacekeeper, she had to be in the square early for the reaping. Of course, the actual ceremony barely mattered at all, but she still needed to be there to subdue any protests.

As Margaret dug into her eggs and bacon, her father, Walter, was not wearing his apron, which was unusual for him. Since it was reaping day, he didn't need to go to his normal job as a blacksmith. Instead, they'd all be going to the central square for the ceremony. After breakfast, that is.

Today, Margaret would be volunteering for the Hunger Games. She was eighteen, so this was the last year she could do it. She was determined, though. She didn't want to end up like last year, when a fight to enter the Games, which she had lost, had resulted in her spending the night in the District 2 Central Hospital. Over the past year, she'd trained, not just for when she was in the Games, but for actually _entering_ the Games in the first place.

It was time to roll.

* * *

As Hades Blackett smoothed his black hair in the mirror, he knew that he had to look absolutely impeccable for the cameras at the reaping today. He wanted to the sponsors trip over their own feet in order to sponsor him. It was the big day, and he didn't want to mess it all up.

He always got up late on reaping day, so by the time he was downstairs, he had barely enough time to eat breakfast before his parents, Hector, aged 45, and Sarah, aged 32, were ready to take their son to his final reaping. Hades looked at his parents.

This was actually Hector's second marriage. He'd gotten divorced eighteen years ago due to cheating on his now ex-wife, which was how Hades had been born. Sarah had taken a risk, marrying a man she'd met at 14, but it paid off. Not like that mattered right now. If he won the Games, his parents would no longer matter to him. If he lost, he'd be dead, so they'd no longer matter to him anyways.

Hades walked into the square and drew blood. His muscles were tensed up, and he was prepared to spring into action as soon as the escort called a name. He had to be first to the stage, or else someone else would steal his last chance to gain glory for his family.

It was hard to stay fully prepared for the entire sermon on the Dark Days given by the escort, a tall woman with loud magenta hair, but he managed. Finally, the escort lowered her hands into the reaping bowl. Before the name was even out of the bowl, Hades shouted "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

He then swaggered onto the stage, looking at the people of his homeland. Some of the younger boys looked envious. But after all, it just wasn't their year. Hades was 18, after all. This was his last chance to enter the Hunger Games, and there was no way in, well, Hades that he was going to waste it.

"And what is your name, young man?" the escort asked.

"Hades Blackett" the boy responded, not showing off any emotion.

"Ladies and gentlemen, here we have...Hades Blackett!"

The crowd clapped as the escort began to lower her fingers into the girl's reaping ball, which was pink in color as opposed to blue for the boys.

"And our female tribute is..."

"Margaret Malachi!" came a voice from the eighteen-year-old girl's section.

A tall, slim girl with long black hair came walking up to the stage. "I volunteer as tribute!" she exclaimed.

"I was going to ask you your name, but it appears that you've already told me. Margaret Malachi?"

"Yes" Margaret said.

"Okay, well, those are our two tributes for District 2. Tributes, shake hands".

Margaret and Hades looked at each other, and, enthusiastically, shook hands.

* * *

 **Okay. This is off-topic, but as I was writing Horatio's reaping, I was listening to "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani. I think that it fits, right? Also, who can pick out the Fall Out Boy reference in this chapter?**

 **This is a pretty short chapter, but expect all six chapters of the reaping to be. I still need 15 tributes, so please submit a tribute if you'd like. Also, I would like to thank calebbeers21 for Horatio and Hades, WhyNotWriteFanfiction for Elegance, and ThomasHungerGamesFan for Margaret.**

 **All right. That's it for today, and the entire month of July. Snowlucario is out.**


	3. Chapter 3: Goodbyes A

Chapter 3: Goodbyes A

 **I said I wouldn't do another chapter until August 14 or so. Shows how good I am at keeping promises. But fan fiction is addicting, and being that I have Asperger's, when I get into something, I get _really_ into something. Also, I got a great review of Elegance from her creator, WhyNotWriteFanfiction. That boosted my ego enough to write this chapter.**

~District 1~

Silvera and Glitter came in to say good-bye to Horatio, who was as cocky as ever.

The 17-year-old couldn't stop shutting up about how _fucking awesome_ he was.

"Are you nervous, honey buns?" Glitter asked her son.

"Fuck no" he said. "I'm gonna fucking win these Games. And then, I'll fucking get all the money I ever wanted. And the fame! Oh, the fame!" It need not be said that Horatio had an extremely big ego, and was thus not fazed at all by his family's worry.

"Honey buns Horatio, please watch your language around your sweet old mother" Glitter said. "I'll call your father in".

A few seconds later, Peter Jewel appeared, looking distraught.

"I...just...can't...fathom...the fact that this could be the last time I see you" he sobbed. "I want you to win. Not just for fame and fortune, but for _your life._ That's the most important thing of all. The Lord has blessed us by allowing us to live in District 1".

Horatio groaned loudly. His father was constantly preaching about God and all that, when Horatio was an atheist. He perpetuated the stereotype of an "angry atheist", because he always seemed angry at the world for him not being richer and more famous than he already was. He didn't appreciate what he already had well enough.

Eventually, the Peacekeepers came, and it was time to leave.

* * *

The first person to come in to say goodbye to Elegance was her best friend since kindergarten, Janet. This brought in a stir of memories for her. Her older sister, Olivia, had died in the games five years before, and Elegance was determined to avenge her. If only that fucking District 4 boy, Hans, hadn't turned on her.

But she couldn't dwell on the past. _Now_ was all she had left.

Even so, she couldn't stop thinking about it...

* * *

It had happened when they were both thirteen, and still training for eventually entering the Games. Janet had actually won the previous year, and Elegance was determined to follow her best friend. If Janet had won at 16, Elegance could at 17.

But this was what had happened on that fateful day.

They were doing an army crawl through the scrubs near the beach of District 1, when, suddenly, there was a hissing noise, and then a scream of pain. Elegance looked back to see that Janet had a large scarlet bite on her left leg. Elegance yelled for help.

The paramedics took Janet to the hospital, Elegance riding with her now-unconscious friend, watching as they put an IV of antivenom in. Janet had stayed in the hospital overnight, but then been released. And then she'd just continued training, like nothing had happened.

Janet seemed to have recovered mentally from that experience, but Elegance hadn't. She was still deathly afraid of snakes, and she didn't want to see one ever again. But now that she was going to be in the Hunger Games, there was no telling what she might encounter.

"You can do it, Elegance" Janet was saying. "Just join the Careers. They'll take you under their wing. Then just ride that alliance as far as you can. Leave on watch. That should be your goal, okay? That's how I won".

Elegance nodded, fighting the oncoming wave of tears.

Janet then walked out, to be replaced by her parents, Drape and Amber. They embraced each other for a while, not sure what to say.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Peacekeepers came.

"It's time to say goodbye" one of them said.

With a couple of sobs on both of their parts, Drape and Amber Elysia left the room, leaving Elegance alone to break down.

* * *

~District 2~

Because Phillipa Malachi was in charge of ensuring that the square was left in an orderly fashion, only Walter was able to say good-bye to his daughter.

"Hey, Maggie, good luck" he told her. "Join the Careers".

Margaret took his advice to heart, which she wouldn't normally. She was a free spirit, and she didn't like to take orders from anyone. But this was what she had planned to do, anyway, so it was just what she did.

"I will, Dad" she said. "And...in case I don't make it, thank you. For everything, Dad".

Walter nodded. He tried not to show it, but, while on the outside he'd been totally supportive of his daughter's training for the Games, on the inside he was a wreck. He'd just have his Peacekeeper wife left, and, while he did love her, she was often away on business.

He _couldn't_ lose Margaret. He just couldn't.

But he had no control over that. And that was the scariest thing. Walter Malachi was just an ordinary District 2 father, who had absolutely no idea of the horrors this arena would hold. So all he could do, until the Peacekeepers came to say goodbye, was hug and kiss his daughter.

* * *

Hades's first visitor was his girlfriend, Sophie.

"I love you, Hades" she said. "Please come back safe and sound" she said.

Hades groaned on the inside. Sophie could be a little overprotective of him, even though _he_ was the man in the relationship. On the outside, Hades would be considered an abusive boyfriend, because he could be pretty controlling at times. But Sophie did love her. She had no idea that she was just the flavor of the week, there to tide Hades over until he won the Hunger Games, at which point girls would be tripping over themselves for him.

"I love you too, Sophie" he said. As said above, he didn't really mean it.

Sophie left, to be replaced by his best friend, Achilles. "Hey, Hades" he said.

"Yeah, what?" Hades asked Achilles.

"If you don't survive...just let me tell you that I stole all of your Pokemon cards".

"Wait... _what?_ " Hades gasped. He lunged at his friend, whom he no longer considered his friend. Four years ago, Hades's massive stash of Pokemon cards had gone missing. Achilles had offered to help him look for it. But he'd never mentioned that he'd always had the deck in his bedroom back in one of the villages of District 2.

At that, the Peacekeepers pulled Hades off of Achilles, handcuffed him, and marched the teen into the waiting train.

 **Another very short chapter. I'm sorry, but there's really not too much to do with these.**

 **I hope you guys liked the twist with Hades's goodbyes. I know I sure do. This time, I really do mean it when I say this is the last chapter before camp.**

 **And finally, there will be no chapters dedicated to train rides. I don't see the point, honestly; there is already enough before the Games. I want to be into the Games by October, and I'll lose 23 days due to camp.**

 **All right. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to bed, because it's 10:45 PM where I am. I'm bushed.**

 **Sincerely, Snowlucario**


	4. Chapter 4: Reapings B

**Hey, guys, it's SnowLucario here. While I sit on my front porch, looking out at the SnowLucario neighborhood and trying to regain the weight I lost (I'm quite skinny), I decided to write this chapter. The tributes from Districts 3 and 7 are my own. I now have everyone, so thank you to everyone who submitted a tribute. I would also like to thank my mother, who managed new submissions.**

 **Also, here is who these characters will be based on.**

 **Leo: Leo Valdez from** ** _The Heroes Of Olympus_**

 **Siliconia: Nothing in particular**

 **Conker: The squirrel from** ** _Conker's Bad Fur Day_**

 **Isabella: Isabella York, from my other story,** ** _Bounding Through Time_**

 **Speaking of BTT, one of the kids at my camp had read my story and was shocked to learn that I was the author. I was a very happy SnowLucario that day.**

 **Also, this is going to be an AU. The reason for this is that Gloss won the 63rd Hunger Games. In this universe, Katniss and Peeta are never born.**

 **I also have the full bootlist ready. I'm not telling anyone on request. I might send some people PMs, but just good friends of mine. I'll try to get to the actual Games by October. We'll see, though. I'm planning for maybe 20 chapters of pre-Games, most of which will be pretty short.**

* * *

 **District 3**

Leo Nale was in the machine shop.

Of course, he worked there every single day, so it wasn't a big surprise. His hands, normally twitching very much due to his ADHD, were steady while he tinkered with his newest machine: an artesian screw. He wiped the sweat off his face, grateful for what he had. It could be worse.

Leo's mother, Ericka, was always working, trying to support her and her son. Since the Nales were poor, Leo had to take out tesserae. But, as said before, it could have been far worse. Leo had his name in the reaping a grand total of twelve times this year. Four were just the standard entries that everyone had in the reaping ball.

The bell in the factory rang. Since it was reaping day, people were not allowed to work past noon. They had to be in the square for the occasion.

Of course, Leo wished he could stay in the machine shop. He always did. But that was just how things went. He had been unlucky enough to have grown up poor, in the urban slums of District 3. He just had to deal with it.

Leo, in his grease-covered clothes, walked out of the factory, trying not to think about the twelve slips with his name on it. The odds were less than one in five thousand that he'd be picked. And then he could party with everyone else before returning to his normal life.

* * *

 _Worst day to have my birthday._

Those were Siliconia's thoughts as her mother carried her twelfth birthday cake into the kitchen of their humble home in the suburbs of District 3.

Her birthday was on this day, July 21. Unfortunately, it was also her first Reaping. She looked around at all of her older sisters.

Stella, the oldest, was eighteen, in her final year of being eligible for the Hunger Games. Her black hair was held back in a bun, and a stern expression was on her face. Siliconia knew that she was really nervous for her youngest sister's first Reaping. Stella had enough of her own worries. Her name was in the reaping ball forty-nine times.

Sally was the second oldest, at 16. She just looked excited for her sister's birthday. Of course, she also had thirty-five slips of paper in the reaping.

Siobhan was the second youngest. She was fourteen years old, and was hugging Siliconia with an iron grip, as if she was the last lifeboat leaving the _Titanic._ This just might be her last day in District 3.

And Siliconia had seven slips.

"Siliconia, make a wish!" her father shouted from the hallway.

Siliconia blew out the candles. All she'd been thinking was this:

 _I hope that the 112 slips of paper with the name "Bradley" on them don't mean anything._

* * *

The day of the reaping was extremely hot and muggy. The escort, a squat woman with indigo hair, was brandishing her sharp nails, as if she were an attack dog who would pounce on any children who made an attempt to escape.

She gave the usual rambling about the Dark Days and all that jazz. Then, she said in her shrill voice, "Ladies first!"

The escort reached her hand into the bowl, gingerly pulling out the name of the female tribute.

Siliconia was thinking, _Please don't be me. Don't be me. Don't be me..._

"Siliconia Bradley!"

"Fuck!" the girl yelled.

The Peacekeepers were coming for her, and she knew that she was headed off to her doom. After all, no twelve-year-old ever won the Games. But maybe she could be the first. She only knew one thing for certain.

This was the worst birthday present ever.

* * *

 _Pitiful girl. I really hope I'm not the one who has to go in with her._

But Murphy's Law prevailed that day.

"Leo Nale!" the escort shrieked.

And just like that, Leo's predictable way of life was shattered.

The tributes were, as was the custom, made to shake hands. This even though they just might end up with one killing the other.

* * *

 **District 4**

 _This is going to be great._

That was what Anna Hardy was thinking as she threw knives at the portraits of her father. She knew that her abusive father, Finn, would not be happy about this. But she didn't care. She would be entering the Hunger Games today, and she could really care less. She'd have plenty of other people to kill. Maybe she could even kill her dad now, just for practice.

Her mother was dead. Katherine Hardy had died while giving birth to her. Finn blamed her for this, which was why he treated her so badly. On the outside, she was cold and callous, the most evil girl in all of District 4. But on the inside, she was Anna Hardy, a victim of domestic violence who just wanted other people to know how she felt. Even if that meant hurting them as well.

But none of that mattered. Anna would win the Games, or die trying. Literally.

Eventually, she got dressed and ate breakfast.

Finn would really beat her now. Maybe he'd even come at her with one of the knives she'd thrown into his portrait. She just had to survive today and get into the Hunger Games. And then, it would all be okay. That was what got her through every day. At the academy, there was always a big argument about who got to go that year. But for the 63rd Hunger Games, everyone knew that it was Anna's turn to win it for her district. She was eighteen, after all. It was the last year in which she _could_ enter.

"Anna, you're in big trouble" her father's voice said from the other end of the table.

She looked into her father's hard, navy blue eyes, just like hers. Despite being from the fishing district, blue was Anna's least favorite color. This was because it reminded her too much of Finn.

"Do not _dare_ disrespect your elders, young lady! You're going into the Hunger Games today!"

On the outside, this time, Anna was trembling in fear. But on the inside, she was smiling. That was exactly what she was planning to do.

* * *

"I'll give you a patent for that, Eli".

Eli looked up at the man in front of him. He was wearing a purple suit, meaning that he could only be one of those people who wanted to make gazillions of dollars on his inventions.

For Eli Trout was a genius. Literally. His IQ had been tested at 176, about one in five million. He was currently testing out his latest invention, a rod with a net that homed in on fish. It wasn't the most economical way to fish, but it got the job done.

"Okay" Eli said. "How much?"

"I didn't say I'd do it today" the man said. "It's reaping day. You should be getting ready".

Eli didn't say anything. Instead, he dove into the water, and, like a dolphin, swam across a small section of the harbor, and pulled himself back on to the other dock.

He didn't want to tell anybody this, but he had been training for the Hunger Games since the age of five. Nobody wanted Eli Trout to go off and die at the age of 17. He wasn't going to make District 4 proud, even if he won. But he would hopefully gain some admirers in the Capitol. That was what he was really in it for. He wanted to be known outside of his homeland. And he would do his best to make sure that was the case.

* * *

The District 4 escort, an elderly man with curly orange hair approaching scarlet, called out a name: "Zane Reynolds!"

A nerdy-looking boy with glasses blanched at his name being called. But he had never needed to worry about it. Eli had known all along.

All eyes were on Eli Trout as he shouted, "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

He pushed his way onto the stage, shoving bigger and stronger boys to the side. He was going to be known as something other than a genius inventor.

"We have a volunteer!" the escort shouted, as if this was big news. Of course, it wasn't. District 4 usually had volunteers, it was a Career district after all.

"And your name is...". Again, this was something he didn't need to say. Everyone in District 4 knew who the tall, skinny boy standing in front of them was.

"Eli Trout!".

The audience booed. They didn't want Eli Trout, boy genius, to be going off to his likely death in the Hunger Games. But it wasn't like they could do anything about it. He had been the first one to the stage, and that was all that mattered.

But it was time to pick the female tribute.

Before the escort could read the name, a voice came from the section for 18-year-old girls.

"I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!".

A tall, sexy girl walked to the stage.

"And what is your name, young woman?" the escort asked her.

"Anna Hardy".

"All right, those are our two tributes".

Eli looked into Anna's eyes. He wouldn't trust this girl. He wanted another option besides the usual Career alliance that formed every year.

They shook.

* * *

 **All right. That's the Reapings for Districts 3 and 4, done! This took me about two and a half hours to write.**

 **Also, if anyone would like to make any fan art for my story, or any others, who also has an account on this cite, that would be AMAZING! You'll be on my Favorites list for sure.  
**

 **But yeah, that's it for this chapter. I know it was short, under 2,000 words, but what can you really put in a Reapings chapter?**

 **SnowLucario is back, baby!**


	5. Chapter 5: Goodbyes B

**This chapter is going to be pretty short. It's just going to be more goodbyes from the parents of Leo, Siliconia, Anna, and Eli. Except there's just going to be three. I think it's pretty obvious who doesn't get a goodbye, but I'm still not going to say.**

 **I think the Bloodbath will be on Chapter 19 or 20, just to give an idea of how long this is going to be. In terms of words, I have no idea.**

* * *

 **District 3**

Ericka Nale wanted to see her son one last time. After all, she was unlikely to get another opportunity. District 3 didn't do too well in the Hunger Games, usually. After all, it wasn't a Career district. Half the time, the winner was a fucking Career tribute from 1, 2, or 4. That was just how it went.

"I love you, Mom" Leo said, his eyes wet with tears. He only had a few minutes left with his mother, and he wanted to make the most of them.

"I love you too, son. Good luck in the Games" she said back to him, sobbing her eyes out.

Of course, they both knew that Leo had little or no chance at winning the Games. He was just a boy mechanic with severe ADHD. He'd be lucky to survive the Bloodbath, and, since he was so scrawny, he'd waste away quickly without food.

Still, though, they had to try to remain optimistic. In Panem, hope was all you had left when you were dirt poor with an oppressive government.

They both cried until a Peacekeeper came in, saying it was time for Ericka to leave.

* * *

Siliconia, on the other hand, had a lot of visitors.

"I'm so sorry, girl. What an awful birthday present" her mother was saying. Of course, the odds had not been in her family's favor. But her youngest had been the one to bite the bullet.

Her sisters expressed their sadness, but it meant nothing to Siliconia. She had _three eligible sisters,_ and any one of them could have volunteered to take her place. But none of them had. Instead, they'd let a twelve-year-old loved one go off to her death. And they all knew she'd die.

Stella Bradley cried for Siliconia, but at the same time, she seemed relieved that it hadn't been her. After all, she was 18, and thus had the highest chances out of anyone in her family, maybe even anyone in the whole of District 3, of being reaped.

All Siliconia could think about was that if, by some miracle, she managed to get back home, she would never go back to her family. She'd leave them in their small house while she lived in luxury in the Victor's Village. That was the light at the end of the maze of tunnels she found herself lost in.

* * *

 **District 4**

There were no visitors for Anna.

Eli, on the other hand, had a lot of visitors. First were Carlee and Aster Trout, his parents.

"How dare you go throw your life away! You're too _valuable_ for this district!" Aster, his father, bellowed at him.

"We're so disappointed in you! If you come back, you're _grounded!"_

Eli couldn't help laughing at this. It was so ridiculous that they were talking about how, if he won, he'd be in big trouble with his parents. That felt so inconsequential right now. His one goal was to win the Games.

His next visitor was his best friend, Dillan Rives. The two had played video games together since they were in diapers, and Dillan's _Super Smash Bros. 43_ reflexes had made him very good with his hands from an early age. The boys's skills complimented each other's well. Dillan wasn't that smart, but his hands were steady. Eli was, of course, extremely intelligent, but he was clumsy sometimes.

"You've got to win, Eli. Or else I'll dig you up and kill you again" Dillan said.

Eli nodded. He knew that he'd pissed off a lot of people by volunteering. He'd hopefully gain his admirers back after winning, if he won.

No, not _if._ _When_ he won, he'd get his fans back.

Finally, his girlfriend, Melanie, came in. The reason they'd fallen in love was because he'd saved her from a boating accident that killed both of her parents. Ever since then, they'd been completely smitten with each other. They were the cutest couple in District 4, many people agreed. They gave each other a quick kiss, then the Peacekeepers came in.

"Goodbye, sweetheart" Eli said.

"Bye-bye, Eli" Melanie said in a singsong voice, with an awful air of finality.

 **This is very short, but I still hope someone reviews this. I'm pleased to see that Eli's creator, Thorn5502, has favorited me and this story. I'm still hoping he gives me a review or PM, because I'd love to hear what I did well about his character.**

 **That's about it. So far, I think I'm on pace to reach the Games by the last week of September or the first week of October.**

 **SnowLucario is out.**


	6. Reapings C

**All right, it's SnowLucario again. I have decided that I'm going to have districts 5-8 in this chapter, simply because I like longer chapters more. I love seeing bars on the right-hand side of the screen, and seeing how small I can get them to be. I think that this is going to be very interesting to write and see how people think I've written their tributes.**

 **But, anyways. It's time to start. Let's get to the reaping for Savanna and Ira first! Thanks, guys, for submitting such good tributes. Since I'll likely do a 64th HG SYOT after this, I will ask for less common names.**

* * *

 **District 5**

Savanna Charlton was not a happy girl on this sultry July day.

First of all, it was reaping day. Because Savanna was fourteen and had to take tesserae for herself, her parents, and her bully sister Gaby, she had her name in a total of sixteen times. Gaby, at seventeen, had twenty-four names in the reaping bowl. And therein lay the problem.

Savanna's family was poor. Dirt poor. They lived on the streets, and yet Panem still gave them tesserae. For most of Savanna's life, things had not been good. Partly because of their financial situation, and partly because of the fact that Gaby was the biggest bully in all of District 5. She went out of her way to make her younger sister's life miserable. But lately, things had gone from bad to worse.

Three days prior, her father, Korker, a balding man of thirty-nine, had been in a street fight. He had been brutally injured in this fight, and was still in the hospital, in critical condition. This was Savanna's destination as she walked through the campus of District 5 University. She introduced herself as the son of Korker Charlton, and was allowed inside to visit her father.

The scene was no different from the previous two days. Savanna's father lay in a medically-induced coma, heavily injured was he. Hideous scars covered pretty much his whole body. He wouldn't respond to anything she said or did. But that wouldn't stop her from speaking to him.

"Dad, if you can hear me", Savanna began, "it's reaping day. I love you, and I hope you get better soon. If I get reaped, well, maybe I'll see you on the other side if you don't make it. But please keep fighting. For all of our sakes".

She held his hand for a while longer, before a Peacekeeper came in. Savanna realized that she was going to be late for the Reaping if she didn't hurry up.

With that, Savanna gave Korker one quick kiss on the forehead before leaving.

* * *

As Ira Wilson walked towards the town square for the reaping, he was feeling quite nervous. He hadn't had to take out any tesserae. But it was still his last year of eligibility for the Games, and so he had seven slips of paper with his name on them.

He ran his fingers through his hair, wondering what on earth he was going to do if he was called to participate in Panem's national sport: the Hunger Games. Except he had already come up with a plan. Just in case.

He planned to get good in training, become as skilled as possible with the various weapons, so as to gain the trust of the Career tributes. He'd stay with them and then, like normal Careers did, turn on them towards the end, when the numbers got lower.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, he would end up needing to put this plan into effect.

"Ira Wilson!" the escort, a tall, thin man with crimson hair bellowed.

Ira stood stock-still, barely moving. He was fucking terrified of going into that arena, that was for sure. But he didn't have any choice in the matter. All he could do was walk onto the stage and see who was chosen as the female tribute.

* * *

"Savanna Charlton!"

Savanna had always figured that she would be the luckiest one in her family. Maybe her smarts would get her off the streets and into the actual population of her district.

But her name being pulled from the reaping ball made these fantasies all come crashing down. She knew that she only had a 4.167% chance of surviving the Games, approximately. The odds were stacked heavily against her ever seeing her father wake up, let alone actually getting a _house_ to live in.

Reluctantly, she walked up to the stage and shook hands with Ira.

Things had gone from bad, to worse, to even _worse_ , if that was even possible.

 **District 6**

As the sun rose over District 6, a pair of sixteen-year-olds were holding each other's hands in front of a window.

If you hadn't known the Gunners, you would think that this pair was a couple. But that wasn't the case.

Apollo and Casey Gunner were twin siblings, and they sure loved each other a lot. They were facing reaping day together. Their apartment was very shabby, and, with their mother's limited salary after their father's untimely death, each of the children had to take tesserae. Twenty entries apiece for each of them.

It could have been worse, though. After Carter, their father's death, Kiva (the mother of the Gunner twins) had fallen into a deep depression. Luckily, with the help of her children, she had become functional again. The Gunners were once again a happy family. They weren't the luckiest people, but they had a roof over their heads. That was better than some could say in District 6. And that was what kept her and her children going.

"It's reaping day today, mother! Let's get some apple strudel today for dessert to celebrate!" Casey said enthusiastically.

In District 6, as with the other outer districts, the reaping was something to be celebrated. After it was over, that is. The reaping coming and going signified your children getting to live another year.

"Okay" Kiva said eventually. She knew how much her children loved apple strudel. Because the Gunners were half-Austrian, strudel was their favorite dessert.

 **(I'm not intending to make a generalization here. I've been to Austria, and I love strudel as well. The Gunner family is just very proud of their heritage, that's all).**

"But first", Kiva continued, "we have the reaping today. Get yourselves dressed well. In case you are reaped, you'll want all the sponsors you can get. And that's the only way you'll get Werner's Apple Strudel ever again should you be reaped".

Mrs. Gunner started crying. She hadn't meant to worry her children, but she should have realized that her words were likely to have that effect.

Oh, well. It was too late now. Let's hope they get that apple strudel for dessert that night.

 **(Of course, you know Apollo _won't)_**

* * *

Hannah Ford ran like a reindeer. Of course, that was why they called her "Vixen". She embraced that nickname, because she didn't like being named after a defunct chain of grocery stores.

She sorely wished that she could have socked her parents for naming her that. But she couldn't.

You see, Vixen was a homeless orphan who lived on the streets. She had no parents, no family, and only one friend, Jack Rover, who was running next to her right now.

"It's reaping day. How many slips do you have in the bowl, Jack?" Vixen asked.

"Well, I'm 16, and I take out tesserae for my four little brothers, myself, and my parents. It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to figure that one out" Jack replied.

Vixen wasn't the greatest at arithmetic. In fact, she had dyscalculia, a _math learning disability._ Eventually, Jack would just tell her the answer.

"I have 40 entries in the reaping bowl" Jack said.

"Oh" Vixen said.

This worried more than she would have liked to admit. Jack had taken her under his wings after her parents had died. If not for him, she'd be a goner, lost to that urban wasteland known as District 6. Instead, she was still trucking, on the streets of the transportation district. _Nice pun, Vixen_ , she told herself.

The reason they were running was because they didn't want to be late to the reaping. It wasn't done to be tardy to the ceremony during which children were sent to the Capitol to be slaughtered mercilessly at the hands of other children.

* * *

The District 6 escort was a pale young woman with long, puffy hair dyed lime green, which was a color that the citizens of District 6 very rarely saw. Even as the normal video about the Dark Days was shown, the crowd was squirming. Six was by far the most populous district, with more people than the U.S. state of North Dakota had, back when the United States was still a country. Before it had been replaced by this stupid dictatorship.

"Ladies first!" the escort declared exuberantly. She then reached her long, polished yet disgusting fingernails into the reaping bowl and pulled out a name. She slowly read, "Hannah Ford".

It took Vixen a good ten seconds for it to sink in. By then, Peacekeepers were grabbing hold of her arms and manhandling her onto the stage.

 _Oh, shit. I just got reaped for the Hunger Games._

Any dreams she had had of a future with Jack had been crushed. But she didn't cry, though. She had to save her tears for the goodbyes.

* * *

 _Wow, she looks tough. I hope I don't have to compete with_ her, Apollo thought.

But sometimes, you just don't get what you wish for.

"Apollo Gunner!"

As Apollo was led onto the stage and made to shake hands with Hannah, it was as if God, or who- or whatever was running the universe, had devoured his apple strudel. There would be none of that tonight, or probably for the rest of his life either.

 _Poor me._

* * *

 **District 7**

"Bind his limb, Isabella" the head paramedic was saying.

Isabella did as she was told, setting the man's broken leg. She was a paramedic internist, which was important in District 7, where the nearest hospital could be far away. Of course, she didn't make any money off of this, but she didn't really need it. Her family was well-off for her district.

Today was, of course, reaping day. She would only work until noon, and it was 11:30 right now. They'd just be getting this guy to the hospital before Isabella would have to be heading to the central square of District 7, where, she could only hope, the escort would not select Isabella York for the Hunger Games. District Seven was the furthest district from the Capitol, located in the central part of what had once been Alaska. Of course, this was the best place for lumber, 7's main industry.

Isabella made small talk with the other paramedics before they arrived at the hospital's emergency department, where the bigger and stronger interns carried the man inside, on a stretcher. Then, Isabella went back to her valet-parked car.

It was time for her to go back home and get changed for the reaping ceremony.

* * *

"I...gotta...get home...fer th' reaping" Conker said drunkenly.

He'd had one too many the previous night, and it was now very late, perhaps five in the morning. But Conker B. Furrday was too drunk to care.

Wobbling left to right, he staggered to the door of the bar. He looked around, as if he couldn't quite remember the way back to the home he shared with his girlfriend, Berry. He picked a direction through the village of Healy, looking at the pine tree-covered mountains. This wasn't really something to go by, since the Alaska Range went on forever. And Conker was too severely inebriated to think rationally.

He ran his hand through his shaggy orange hair, wondering why he felt so worried.

 _Oh yeah...it's reaping day today, ain't it?_

His girlfriend, who was often out selling herself to other guys (which Conker was aware of, but didn't care, because, 1. he was too drunk to care, and 2. it was needed to keep the two of them afloat), was sitting in the armchair by the fireplace, which was on. Conker's shirt was covered in vomit from a night of binge drinking.

"Sit by the fire" Berry said.

Conker was far too happy to oblige. Today was reaping day, and each of them were taking out two tesserae, 21 entries each. Those were forty-two chances that one of them would be reaped for the Hunger Games.

* * *

The escort for District 7 was a severe-looking man with purple hair and glasses. As he lowered his right hand into the reaping ball, Isabella was frantically thinking, _Seven entries. In District 7. Those are long enough odds, aren't they?_

She was sorely mistaken.

"Isabella York!"

And just like that, Isabella was being forced to the stage. No one was there to volunteer for her. She was well and truly in the clutches of the Capitol now, even though she was still nearly three thousand miles away from the utopian city.

 _Let's see who I'm with,_ she thought.

"Conker Badd Furrday!" the escort called out.

A short boy with shaggy orange hair was walking drunkenly towards the stage. Isabella saw that he could barely keep himself upright. She couldn't help smirking at that.

 _Well, that's one person I don't think I have to worry about._

* * *

 **District 8**

"Kai...I'm volunteering today. I want to be just like those Careers from the rich districts" Miri Ellara was saying to her pet turtle.

No, really. Miri _was_ kind of a Career. There was no Career academy in District 8, but that hadn't prevented her from learning how to swim and throw spears. She wanted to get out of the urban slums of 8. That was just what she wanted. And she was willing to do anything to accomplish that goal for herself and her family, even if it meant volunteering for the Hunger Games.

Kai didn't say anything back. Which wasn't too surprising, since he was a turtle. One day, Miri had just found him by the side of the road. Even though her family wasn't rich, not even close, she knew that this turtle's owner had probably not treated him very well. Kai's thick tail had been twisted and matted. Miri had taken him in and nursed him back to health.

Ever since then, Kai had been the most constant thing in Miri's life. He was her greatest companion. And yet she was going to reject it all today, volunteering for the Hunger Games.

* * *

Vair slid the thread through the needle, continuing to work on the shirt.

That was what he did every day, for as long as he could remember, working in the textile factories of District 8. Thread. Eat. Thread. Go home. Go running with Velvet. Sleep. Repeat. He wasn't happy about the prospects for his future.

 _If only I'd had an education._

Vair Armani valued education above almost all else. Velvet, his much younger sister, had been lucky to actually _get_ an education, unlike Vair, who'd never been to school a day in his life. In District 8, most people were not very well educated, and those who were tended to rise to the top, as basic economics dictated. At least, that was what Velvet said.

The Armanis were upper middle class, for District 8. Since they had three breadwinners, Vair didn't have to take out any tesserae, meaning that he only had six entries in the reaping this year. He almost wished he would get chosen, so that he could get out of this boring lifestyle. _Maybe I should volunteer today,_ he thought.

But immediately he pushed that thought out of his mind. _No!_ He wasn't going to leave his family behind! They needed him. And _he_ needed them.

* * *

The main square of 8 was crowded, as it always was on reaping day. As the escort dug into the bowl for the male tributes, Vair was hoping desperately that it wasn't him.

He was sorely disappointed.

"Vair Armani!"

No one came up to volunteer, so he walked to the stage, along his own Boulevard Of Broken Dreams. But, to be fair, he hadn't had too many dreams that could have been broken. All he could think about was how he really had to return to Velvet.

It was now time to call the name of the female tribute.

Just before the escort, a plump woman with pink hair, could read the name, a voice from the 18-year-old section called out, "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

The crowd gasped; volunteers were rare in District 8.

A girl was walking towards the stage, clutching a turtle in her arms. Pets were not unusual in the Games, on the other hand.

"My name's Miri. Miri Ellara" the girl told the escort.

The tributes were made to shake hands.

 _This Ellara girl is going to be a character,_ Vair thought.

* * *

 **This chapter isn't too long, but it's the longest one of _Labyrinth_ so far. It will come out to a tiny bit over three thousand words. **

**As soon as I'm done writing the reapings and goodbyes, I'll put a favorite character poll on my Profile page, which has a total of 447 views. _Labyrinth_ has now passed the 500-view mark, at 13 reviews. I don't think that's too bad. All my stories combined have 1,813 views as of 9:06 AM EST on August 15, 2016. **

**I wrote District 8 on my porch, in my pajamas.**

 **I REALLY want people to review this chapter. Just tell me anything about any of the eight characters introduced. PLEASE.**

 **SnowLucario out.**


	7. Goodbyes C

**Hey, guys, it's SnowLucario again. In case you're wondering, I write the top author's note before the chapter, and the bottom author's note after the chapter. My stories have a total of 1,876 views at the moment, which seems a pretty decent number. My empire is growing by several percent every day.**

 **I have also opened a forum, entitled "Labyrinth Speculation". Feel free to speculate about who will win, or what else may happen. No spoilers, please! I will not confirm or deny anything until the chapter in which _ dies is posted.**

 **Anyway, let's get on to the story!**

* * *

 **District 5**

The first person to visit Savanna was her mother, Kathy, a perky woman of fifty. She had her graying hair tied back in a bun and a somber expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, Savanna" she said. She tried to comfort her daughter, but Savanna was a million miles away, in a world of her own.

How on earth could she expect to win these Games? She was only fourteen, after all. People that young rarely won, if ever. The only exception had been a kid named Teren from District 9. And, honestly, he'd gotten really lucky. The Careers never even paid attention to his five in training, and he managed to sneak through to the end, betray his ally, and beat the last two Careers in the final battle.

No, Savanna wouldn't win. She was just kidding herself, and so was anyone else who thought she had any less than a 95.83% chance of dying. And Savanna couldn't get her mind off of this thought until the Peacekeepers came in.

* * *

Ira, on the other hand, had a lot of things to think, and talk, about.

His mother didn't come in. Somewhere in her mind, she thought that Ira was the reason her husband had cheated on her with another woman and left her for another family. If only Joseph had never left, Helen Wilson might still have loved her son. But she didn't. At least, not enough to go say goodbye to her son right before he went off to his death.

Neither did Cole, his elder brother, whom he had never gotten along with very well. His other brother, Ezra was happy to say goodbye to him.

"Sorry for not volunteering for you" Ezra said.

Ira didn't know how to respond to that. He hadn't wanted Ezra to throw away his life for him. That was just what had to happen. One of the Wilson twins would be going into the arena either way, most likely never to make it back home again.

"It's all right" Ira said back. Because really, what else was he going to say?

The last person to come in was Jack, his best friend, just like his brother. They exchanged some goodbyes, and then the Peacekeepers came in, saying that his time was up and he had to get ready to get on the train.

* * *

 **District 6**

Apollo's goodbyes were very somber. Kiva and Casey spent most of their time simply hugging him and sobbing, and Kiva promised that if Apollo managed to win, they would buy the world's largest apple strudel. The Peacekeepers seemed sad to break this group up, but, unfortunately, this was just what had to happen.

On the other hand, Vixen only had one person to say goodbye to her: Jack. They spent most of their time talking about how sad it was that they were both orphans, and Vixen was seeing red. She just _hated_ the Capitol and Peacekeepers so much, it was like a virus in her bloodstream. After all, that was largely what had been responsible for her parent's deaths. Then again, she might not have met Jack if that had never happened. But she couldn't think about that right now. She was just focusing on saying goodbye to who she _did_ have with her right now, and preparing for the upcoming Hunger Games she would be competing in.

The Peacekeepers Vixen hated so much came in, signaling that her time was up.

* * *

 **District 7**

Berry came in to say goodbye to her boyfriend.

Conker was still kind of hungover, and he couldn't keep himself from vomiting all over the place during their conversation. This was how it went:

Berry: "Sorry, Conker. Good luck in the Games".

Conker: BARF.

Berry: "You've been drinking way too much, my beau".

Conker: "I-BARF-don't-BARF-want-BARF-to-BARF-die!"

Berry: "With any luck, you won't. You've still got a chance at winning. Just do your best, okay, Conker?"

And it was five minutes of that, as Conker continued throwing up. There was no getting him to say anything else.

When the Peacekeepers came, they seemed all too relieved, but also worrying about how he'd handle himself on the train.

* * *

Isabella's parents were both dead. She really saw the paramedics she worked under as her family, and had even called one of them "Dad" one time, which was pretty embarrassing for her. Luckily, the EMT had been forgiving of it, and he even saw it as flattering.

The EMT, who had always been a father figure to Isabella, did not come. She was truly alone with her thoughts. They were the only things saying goodbye to her.

* * *

 **District 8**

Miri's parents, Skye and Max, were in the Justice Building with her. Miri was clutching Kai to her chest, dreading the moment, a week from now, that she would have to let him go.

"Why did you have to enter the Games?!" Max Ellara boomed. Miri's father did not approve of her entering the Games, and had always been trying to discourage her from doing so. But his efforts had never amounted to anything. His daughter was just so determined.

On the other hand, Miri's mother was very supportive. Skye approved of Miri's decision to be an outer-district Career, but she had never really approved of her pet turtle.

"If only you could get rid of that stupid Kai. He doesn't do anything" her mother said.

Her husband looked at her angrily. After all, that wasn't why they were there. Not to rant about how they hated Kai, but to say goodbye to Miri.

"Good luck in the Games, sweetie" Skye said.

It seemed all too soon when the Peacekeepers came in to escort Miri onto the train.

* * *

Vair's family came in to say goodbye to their son, brother in Velvet's case, for what would most likely be the last time.

Avitus, Vair's father, was a man who resembled a full-on rocker dude, with his mullet and everything. He seemed to care more for his daughter than his son, but that didn't really offend Vair too much. After all, he was the _uneducated_ one.

"Sorry you got reaped" Avitus said.

Vair just nodded. He knew that, even with his physical prowess, he was unlikely to win. There would just be too many strong Careers to go up against for the victor's crown.

Vair's mother, Dusky, was an olive-skinned woman with black hair, who barely resembled Vair's more Indian complexion. She was very intelligent, and could probably tell right now what her son was thinking.

"Just go straight for the Cornucopia, Vair" Velvet was saying. "You know that you can get in and out fast enough that you'll have a decent weapon. Use that".

Vair said, "I think that I have a chance. I'll definitely do my best".

* * *

 **Stupid autocorrect! It kept making it "Fair" or "Varies" instead of Vair! The creator of Vair had better be giving me some props for this. Because this is hard work, you know, changing the name every time.**

 **Just kidding. Declan42, I'm hoping that you're reading this.**

 **After this, just reapings and goodbyes for Districts 9-12. In case you're wondering, I have yet to write those. I don't write a chapter until I have posted the previous one. I don't want to be cruel like that, and it'd also just be inconvenient for me.**

 **My stories have a total of 1,907 views as of 8:05 AM on the morning of August 16. Good work, guys.**

 **All right. SnowLucario is out.**


	8. Reapings D

**All right. I began this chapter not two minutes after posting the last one. Let's see how it goes.**

 **I have a few more interesting characters to put in this reapings chapter. Again, it'll be four districts. For the 64th Games (which I think I will do), I might just have the reapings be one large chapter! It'd be well over 7,000 words, but that's okay with me. Again, I like long chapters. I wish I had more of them. But now I'm just rambling.**

 **Okay. Time to meet my new characters.**

* * *

 **District 9**

"It's two thousand dollars for this massive load of pot" Ted said to the man in front of the counter.

Ted Shaw was an orphan, living on the streets. This part of District 9 was very rough, and there were any number of gangs roaming the area at this very moment. It wasn't a safe place to be for very long. But Ted didn't have a choice in the matter.

When he was seven years old, both of Ted's parents had been executed for being rebels. Ever since then, he'd been a prizefighter, sold illegal merchandise, and he was even a contract killer. The Peacekeepers had put him on the very top of their hit list long ago.

"I don't know. You're Black Shade, aren't you?" the customer asked Ted.

Black Shade was what the authorities of 9 called him. They didn't know quite who he was. Officially, there was no record of him. That started when you were twelve. As a result, he'd never been entered into the reaping before. And he was eighteen. In fact, he'd turn 19 in a week, on the day the Games would start.

The customer pointed to a wanted poster on the wall of a granary. This poster meant nothing to Ted, for he was illiterate. But that didn't matter. He was a good fighter, and he could keep himself alive. And when you had that, who needed an education? Ted had lived the last five years with the awareness that he could be arrested and killed any day. He never planned for anything too far in advance.

"I'm not Black Shade!" Ted said, probably more desperately than he should have.

The customer didn't seem to buy it. "Yeah, you're Black Shade, aren't you? HEY, PEACEKEEPERS, IT'S BLACK SHADE! HE'S RIGHT HERE, SELLING MARIJUANA!"

Almost immediately, the Peacekeepers came running over to Ted. They handcuffed him and dragged him to the central square.

* * *

 _I could fix all of this._

Aurora was looking out at the fields, at the nameless workers. She was a part of the crowd, although she didn't want to be. She stood there, chopping at a stubborn row of wheat that was barely budging.

This part of District 9, known as the Wheatlands, was just that-a large group of fields, during which the ordinary, poor, starving hordes of 9 just toiled away, working long hours.

It wouldn't be like this forever, though. You see, Aurora Baylor had aspirations for bigger things. She hoped to become a biological engineer so that she could grow more food to feed the citizens of her district. The Peacekeepers would probably hog all of it for themselves, but a girl could dream, right?

But right now, she was just in the crowd, waiting for noon, when she would head home for her lunch break. And then, she'd go off to the town square. Because it was reaping day, she had no school. Aurora wished she would have had school on this day, because it would distract her from what was going on today. A family of six, and she was taking tesserae for all of them, including herself. That meant forty-nine entries for her in the reaping ball. But there could be people worse off. Her odds were still one in several hundred at best.

She kept this thought in her heart, in order to calm her nerves.

* * *

"And our male tribute is-"

"Wait a second there, Jakira!" one of the Peacekeepers dragging Ted was saying.

"It's Black Shade" the other one said. "We just caught him. We think that, as punishment for the heinous crimes he has committed against the citizens of District 9, he should be put into the Games today. It's his last year of eligibility".

"That's fine" Jakira, the escort, said.

"Name's Ted. Ted Shaw" the tribute said.

"Oh, shut up, will you?" the Peacekeeper growled. "You don't deserve to speak for yourself.

* * *

"Okay" Jakira said. "Our female tribute is..."

 _Please don't be me. Don't let it fucking be me._

"Aurora Baylor" Jakira read out, carefully accentuating every syllable in her hilarious Capitol accent.

And just like that, Aurora's hopes and dreams of becoming a biological engineer were dashed. Instead, she was just a corpse, one of the other nameless people of District Nine who had been sent to their deaths in the Hunger Games.

She was wary of shaking hands with District 9's most-wanted criminal, but she did so because she had to. Just like she had to be in these Games.

* * *

 **District 10**

As the sun rose over District 10, Bryson Holstein was already awake. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong today.

Of course, those worries were not unfounded; it _was_ reaping day, after all. But Bryson was upper-class, and he didn't need to take out any tesserae. He only had six entries in that bowl. It was highly unlikely that he would ever be chosen to compete in the Hunger Games.

He looked at his family's ranch, one of the largest in his district. He tried to laugh his worry off, but he just couldn't.

Normally, though, that would have been easy for him. Bryson was a very goofy teen, and he could often be found in the back of his class, cracking jokes while the teacher was talking. But not today. _Nothing_ would make him stop worrying.

* * *

Cam was tired. She had just worked a shift in the fields, farming grain for the livestock of District 10. Her father was disabled due to a leg injury he'd sustained three years ago, so he couldn't work. That was why Cam had to work double shifts.

It was still before noon. The reaping would be after lunch, so Cam's shift had been since midnight. She was practically sleepwalking as she walked back to her house.

"How's it going, Cam?" her mother, bearing her two younger siblings in her arms. She knew that Cam was worried about the reaping. Of course, Cam had reason to be worried. Unlike Bryson, Cam had taken out five tesserae, and thus had thirty entries in the 63rd reaping. She didn't want to be chosen. In District 10, being reaped for the Hunger Games was considered akin to a death sentence. District 10 had had three victors, but they still had poor odds compared to most of the other districts.

"Not good. I'm bushed", Cam said, tearing into a piece of bread, "and it's reaping day today. That sucks".

"I know" her father said from his wheelchair. "But you've only got two more years after this one. You can make it".

* * *

The escort for District 10 was a pudgy man with blue hair. Cam was praying to whatever higher power there might have been that she wouldn't be chosen. But, it was to no avail.

"Camille Whey!"

Being called by her legal name made Cam in an even worse mood than she had already been in. _No one_ called her Camille. It was the cherry on top of the diarrhea sundae.

But there was nothing she could do but let herself be led to the stage and wait to see who she would be competing with.

* * *

 _Poor sap,_ Bryson thought. _I pity whoever has to be with her._

Little did Bryson know, he was about to feel very, very sorry for himself.

"Bryson Holstein!"

And just like that, Bryson began panicking. He didn't want to go into the Hunger Games. But, like so many other things in Panem, he just didn't have a choice in the matter at all.

And as he shook hands with Cam, he was still brooding about it. And he most likely would until the day he died. Which would most likely be soon.

* * *

 **District 11**

 _I'm sick of picking fruit,_ Wheat thought. _I wish that I could just get out of here._

But, looking at the large electric fence that ringed the entirety of District 11, he knew that would never be possible.

There was one way out, of course; the dreaded Hunger Games. Wheat had twenty-four entries this year, at just 14, and there was no way he would volunteer. He didn't want to become the Capitol's puppet in the Games. Wheat valued his dignity a lot.

Just then, the jabberjays sang out.

 _Yes! It's fucking done!_ Wheat thought.

* * *

Ember Hayfields, or "Em" as she liked to be called, was working in the fields as well. She didn't see much of a future in her work; as far as she was concerned, she'd spend the rest of her life simply picking fruit at gunpoint. At thirteen years old, she already knew she didn't want that.

When the jabberjays sang to signal the end of the shift, Em walked home and got changed for the reaping. Since Em didn't have any parents, she lived with just an appointed Peacekeeper, Julius, who was supposed to take care of her.

When she entered the shack, Julius was waiting for her. "You're two minutes late! It does not _do_ to be late for the reaping!"

And Julius slapped Em across the cheeks.

Em put up with the abuse from her surrogate father because she didn't have any choice in the matter. None at all. She'd just be shot dead. But was that a worse fate than what awaited her for the rest of her life?

* * *

As it turned out, "the rest of her life" wasn't likely to be very long.

"Ember Hayfields!" the escort called out.

"Coming" she groaned, so quietly that she doubted anyone else in the crowd could hear it.

As soon as she was onstage, she was inwardly freaking out. She just wanted to sink through the ground. But she forced herself to listen to what was going on.

"Wheat Corky!"

A boy of probably no more than fourteen came striding up to the stage, probably far more confidently than Em had. They were forced to shake hands, and then that was that. They were led to the Justice Building.

* * *

 **District 12**

"Look, it's that _Quarry_ girl" people were jeering as Madi walked past.

Of course, she was used to these jeers by now. District 12 was an extremely poor area, but Madison Quarry's father, Bryson, was the district's treasurer. Since they made very good money off of this, while everyone else was just struggling at basic survival, the Quarrys were loathed by almost everyone else in the district.

She only had two hundred more yards to walk until she reached the house.

It was a large, white-shingled house that could have fit eight average Seam houses in it. It was almost as large as those in the Victor's Village. In fact, there was even a chandelier in the entryway.

"You'd better get ready for the reaping, Madi" her mother, Mildred, said.

Madi put on her best blue dress before lunch, which was steak. Since they were one of the richest families in 12, besides the mayor's family of course, they could afford such luxuries. She didn't worry about the reaping.

After all, she only had three entries in the reaping bowl. There were probably way more than three thousand slips in that bowl. What were the odds?

As it turned out, a lot higher than she had thought.

* * *

Ash was only eighteen years old, but he was already working in the coal mines.

He dug into the dirt, grateful that it was reaping day. Even if he did have a small chance of being sent off to his death, at least he didn't have to work the full day.

He took tesserae for himself and his parents, meaning that he had 28 entries total in the reaping bowl. This worried him, as it was probably more than average. But he still wouldn't get picked. He just _wouldn't._

Of course, he would end up being so, so wrong.

* * *

It was Effie Trinket's first year as an escort, so she was stuck with the poorest and most boring district, 12. She just wanted one of them to win, so she could be promoted to a better district.

She dug her hand into the reaping ball and pulled out a girl's name.

"Madison Quarry!"

The whole crowd gasped. _Nobody_ had expected Madi Quarry to be reaped. Everyone hated her family. Maybe the 25th Hunger Games would have been her demise. Instead, the 63rd was to be the end of Madi's life.

Effie then pulled out another name.

"Ash Cole!"

A boy, caked in dirt and ash **(hah, get it?)** , walked sheepishly up to the stage. He then shook hands with Madi, and that was that.

* * *

 **Man, I HATED writing this chapter. Writing all of the reapings was getting monotonous, and I'm glad they're over now! We can then get to the chariot ride, and we'll see everyone together. Then, it'll be a long chapter about training before the training sessions, the scores, and the interviews. Then, it's straight to the countdown and then to the Bloodbath. I'm debating whether or not to put the countdown in its own chapter or have it in the Bloodbath chapter. I'll put that poll up right now.**

 **Also, I apologize to Juud108 and calebbeers21. I must have accidentally deleted your PMs. In doing so, I may have _completely butchered_ your characters. I hope you can forgive me for that. Because, when it all comes down to it, I'm just an autistic 16-year-old who started writing fanfiction less than three months ago. **

**Sorry.**

 **With that, SnowLucario is out for the night. I'm going to do some drawing.**


	9. Goodbyes D

**Good riddance, I'm almost to the Capitol! I hope you guys are thankful for writing all your characters.**

 **This goodbyes chapter is going to be a little short, even for a goodbyes chapter. Reason being, a lot of the tributes won't have someone to visit them at the Justice Building.**

 **There is some good news, though. Labyrinth has hit the 25-review mark, the last one was from me just so it would reach 25. Yes, I have a big ego. Also, my stories in total have surpassed 2,000 views. The SnowLucario empire grows by 7-10% every day.**

 **Okay. Let's get to it. And be warned: autism is mentioned in this chapter. It's not meant to offend anyone; as you all know, I'm on the spectrum myself. Just putting that out there.**

* * *

 **District 9**

Ted had no one to visit him. He didn't know if the Peacekeepers were purposely making it this way or not. Not that it really mattered, anyway, because he had no one left for them.

But strangely, he didn't feel too bad about it. He figured that he was unlikely to win the Games. That was just how it went for people from District 9; they rarely won.

Maybe Ted could beat the odds. But until he knew for sure, this thought gave him a certain degree of comfort.

 _Mom? Dad? Maybe, just maybe, I can be forgiven of what I've done to get to this point. If I die in the Hunger Games. There's a chance I_ might _win, in which case you'll have to wait a little longer. But prepare a reception party up in heaven for me, okay?_

* * *

Patch and Mare were Aurora's parents. Patch worked as a mechanic, fixing farm equipment, while Mare ran an at-home business making and selling clothes to make ends meet. They had different jobs, but they had one thing in common besides being married to each other:

They both had near-identical looks of grief. Aurora was inwardly like, _Jeez, can't you guys wait until I'm_ actually _dead?_

Dax, her younger brother, said, "Just please win for us. You've got to".

"I'll try, Dax, I'll try" Aurora said.

But she knew that she didn't have a very good chance. It wasn't looking like Aurora Baylor, genetic engineer wannabe...would ever be anything more than a wannabe.

Sable, Aurora's seven-year-old sister, was helping her mother control their hyperactive 4-year-old, Trac. Trac was rolling on the floor, bawling, like an autistic child having a meltdown.

Just then, the Peacekeepers came in. They had to knock Trac out with chloroform to get him to calm down. The family was waving her goodbye as Aurora walked out of the building and towards the train platform.

* * *

 **District 10**

Jed and Sage Holstein, Bryson's parents, were there to say goodbye to him. They also brought along Bryson's two brothers, Winston and Garret, and his best friend, Colt.

Bryson tried to joke around with them, but everyone could tell that his heart wasn't really in it. This was most likely the last time they would ever see Bryson, and they wanted to make the most of it.

It was just like the time he'd fallen off a horse and broken his arm. They were afraid it would never heal fully. But it did. And Bryson would do absolutely everything he could to get that victor's crown on his head.

"We'll help manage the ranch in your absence" Winston said.

Bryson just nodded, still in shock. He had just been reaped for the Hunger Games. In District 10, upper-class people _never_ got chosen. Well, not never, but 80% of the time, it was someone who had taken out tons of tesserae. And in a poor district like his, taking out tesserae didn't matter as much, since most people did it.

Colt gave Bryson a bear hug. They weren't gay, but they were at that point in their friendship. Colt was also pretty goofy, but he just didn't have the same luck with the ladies as Bryson did. They didn't let it affect their friendship, though.

"Guys, you'll be _swimming_ in cash when I get home!" Bryson said. "Maybe we should build a swimming pool, and liquidize all the money!"

Normally, his kin would have laughed at something like this, but they didn't have it in them. Not today.

* * *

The Justice Building was not wheelchair-accessible, so Cam didn't expect her father to show up.

Even so, she was surprised when _nobody_ came. She was just left there to stew in her misery. Which, when she thought about it, wasn't that surprising. Her mother had to stay at home to take care of her toddlers. Still, though, it hurt when your parents didn't even want to see their firstborn one last time before they went off to die.

* * *

 **District 11**

Em's abusive stepfather didn't visit her, not that she minded. Julius was probably the _last_ person she wanted to see right now.

Wheat, on the other hand, had his five older siblings all come to visit. They talked with him in low, somber tones, knowing that this was likely to be their last time seeing him alive. Until the Peacekeepers came, that was all they did.

* * *

 **District 12**

Madi's father did not have the time to say goodbye to his daughter. That was the sheer cruelty of the authorities in Panem; they would not allow you any time off of work for even this reason, if you had a job as important as treasurer.

Mildred Quarry, Madi's mother, was just crying. Madi wished she would do something else, considering this was her last time seeing her daughter alive. After all, no one had won from District 12 since Haymitch thirteen years ago. He'd _really_ beaten the odds, since that was the year with twice as many tributes.

Only Coleman, her brother, was able to form any words.

"Give 'em hell" he said.

Just then, the Peacekeepers came in and dragged Coleman out. Madi heard the splattering sounds of blood, and could only assume that her five-years-older brother was getting beaten viciously.

 _Well,_ that _was a happy note to start my journey to the other side on,_ Madi thought.

* * *

Ash's parents were in the Justice Building with him. Ash was trying to hold a conversation, but he just couldn't. He couldn't stop picturing how his inevitable brutal death would go. Maybe he'd be stung by tracker jackers, stabbed through the heart, or decapitated by a Career.

Only time would tell.

* * *

 **Okay. Sorry for the lame goodbyes. But Cam's and Wheat's creators really didn't give me too much to work with, so...yeah.**

 **I'M FINALLY F*CKING DONE WITH THE DISTRICT STUFF! Sorry, but it's a relief to finally get into the Capitol stuff. I might reach the Games sooner than I thought. You never know.**

 **I'm putting a favorite character poll on my profile. You will be able to vote for up to five characters you like. I will announce results of the poll at the starts of certain chapters.**

 **Okay. SnowLucario out.**


	10. My Heart Is Like A Stallion

I think that this chapter's title is pretty clever. It's a lyric from the song "Alone Together" by Fall Out Boy. I hope you like it.

All right. We're _finally_ in the Capitol! It's time for the chariot ride! This is going to be the longest chapter yet in the story, but it won't be the longest by the time this is over. By a vote of 3-2, you guys wanted the Bloodbath to be in the same chapter as the countdown, so I'm doing that. We'll see if that will beat my current record of 7,105 words.

Okay. Let's get to it.

* * *

As the moon rose over the Capitol, it was getting to be time for the annual chariot ride. Twelve chariots, each pulled by two magnificent white stallions, were waiting in the enormous courtyard of the Training Center. Two adolescents were standing in each chariot, dressed in costumes for the parade.

This was the first, besides the reapings, that the Capitol would see the tributes. This was important, because this could determine which tributes would have the best chances of getting sponsors at a critical time. Sponsors could be the difference between life and death in the arena, so the stylists had a very important job. There was a lot of pressure to come up with the best-looking costumes.

The tributes would have thirty minutes to walk around before they had to get back to their chariots. They all posed for the camera, and then they were free to go wherever they wished, within the massive rectangle.

* * *

"This costume makes me look even more awesome than I already am" Horatio said.

Elegance looked at her district partner. Horatio was so absolutely arrogant that she swore to herself that, the first chance she got, she would kill him in his sleep. The train ride up here had been a nightmare. Horatio was constantly talking about how he was going to be the greatest victor of all time. _Like, please,_ Elegance thought, _chill out. The odds are still against your victory._

 _The Capitol won't want you to win._

That was an important thing to remember. The Capitol audience sometimes had just as much control as the Gamemakers did. The Gamemakers wanted a good story. They preferred a lovable underdog to an extremely conceited Career from District 1.

Not that Horatio didn't have any reason to be arrogant. Their costumes were pretty awesome, Elegance had to admit.

Horatio wore a long, golden toga that shone in the night. The stylists had been careful to cover his private parts, but his bare chest was fully visible. The toga only really went around his waist, but that was modest enough for sponsors to like.

Elegance was adorned in a long, flowing purple dress (according to the stylists, it was #421C52 to be exact). On her head was a tiara made out of grape vines. Horatio also had a crown on his head. Together, they looked like they were king and queen of the Wine Country. And, tonight, they kind of were.

"There's still time, Horatio. Do you want to check out the other chariots?" Elegance asked her district partner. According to the digital clock on the square's JumboTron, they had twenty-nine minutes and eleven seconds before the parade would start. Plenty of time to scope out who else they might decide to include in their Career alliance, she figured.

"Yeah, El. Let's do it".

"Don't call me El. It sounds like, "L". My name's not Lily, Lucy, Luke, or anything like that".

"Luke is a guy's name" Horatio said.

"The _point_ is", Elegance huffed, "that I want to be called by my legal name. _Elegance._ If you've got a problem with that, you're free to leave the Career alliance".

Horatio stayed silent.

"Good" Elegance said. "Let's see who else there is".

* * *

Margaret was dressed as a blacksmith, which was appropriate, given her father's occupation. There were small anvils above her breasts on the black dress she was wearing.

She looked over at her district partner. Hades, he had told her his name was. He was dressed as the ancient Greek god, wearing a burgundy toga, with a golden staff that reached up towards the sky and curved into a U shape. He looked very forbidding in this outfit, which Margaret didn't really like the look of.

Margaret didn't think she trusted Hades fully. But that was how things would have to go. Every year, an alliance made of tributes from Districts 1 and 2, and often 4, controlled the game before eventually turning on each other.

Just then, they saw the two tributes from District 1 approaching. The girl was wearing a beautiful purple dress, while the boy was wearing a golden toga and a grapevine crown.

"Hey" the girl said. "My name is Elegance Elysia".

"Margaret" the District 2 girl said back.

Together, they shook hands, just like they had with their district partners. As they looked into each other's eyes, they realized something: they both had insufferably arrogant district partners.

The boy introduced himself as Horatio Jewel. Just like Hades, Horatio had cruel, dark eyes that crackled with abusive power. It was hard to tell which one was more vicious from this angle.

"Well, guys" Elegance said. "I appreciate the niceties, but we've got a lot of ground to cover. Let's get moving".

Her fellow Careers wordlessly agreed with her. They then started walking back down the line of chariots.

* * *

"We look good in these robot suits!" Leo said.

Siliconia didn't like the outfits their stylists had put them in. Her and Leo were wearing extremely cheesy robot heads, with just their eyes visible. Their mouths looked excited in a fun way, which could not have been further from the way she was feeling inside. It had only been a little more than a day since she'd left District 3, but she already missed her family terribly. And she would never see them again.

"This'll sure get us some sponsors!" Leo shouted, more loudly this time.

Siliconia wasn't sure if her district partner was being sarcastic or not. That was the craziest part about Leo, and Siliconia didn't know if she liked him or not.

"Pull yourself together" she said. "The Careers are coming".

It was true. The four tributes from Districts 1 and 2 were walking towards the District 3 chariot.

"Look at them!" Margaret cooed. "These kids are so _cute!_ Let's not put them in our alliance" she said.

"I'll second that" Hades said.

"Me too" Horatio said.

"Elegance?" Margaret asked the other girl.

"I...".

"You _what_ , Elegance?"

"I just think that strength in numbers is important. The more, the merrier".

"Yeah, but only as long as you can _trust_ them!" Hades grumbled loudly.

The two children in robot costumes looked at each other, enjoying the show. They had known all along, of course, that there was no way they would be allowed to join the Careers. That just didn't happen, especially considering how young Siliconia was. A twelve-year-old was only a liability in these Games. They all knew that.

"Look, Elegance, she's _twelve._ She ain't got shit in terms of chances of winning these Games". That was Horatio talking.

"I guess you're right" Elegance said glumly.

* * *

"I hope this makes us look good" Anna said.

"I think this is a pretty fashionable costume" Eli said back to his district partner.

Eli was dressed in a teal tuxedo, with a fishing rod in his hands. He was pretty impatient for the chariot ride to start. He wanted to show the Capitol that he wasn't just some genius inventor from the fishing district, but that he could fight, too. That was what his whole angle was going to be based on. And Eli had what he thought was a clever plan. But, of course, he wasn't going to tell anybody this.

Eli's plan was that he was going to be in the Career pack, just like most District 4 tributes did. But he was also going to be in an alliance with people from outer districts as well. He knew that it was risky. It gave him twice as many people to backstab him, but it also gave him twice as much leeway in terms of survival. But everything changed in the Hunger Games. The basic principles of survival didn't apply to him here, because in those, the goal was for _everyone_ to survive. In the Hunger Games, only _one_ person could survive. He wasn't going to go to other chariots now, though. If the other Careers saw him going off to talk to too many people from non-Career districts, they might suspect something was up. This, in turn, might cause them to target him for playing both sides.

Right now, though, he wasn't worried about this. He was just hoping that his ocean-colored tux would attract some sponsors. It was almost impossible to win the Games without a sponsor, or an ally who had one. And Eli knew that he had to impress the people of the Capitol, because sponsor gifts were incredibly expensive, so much so that most citizens of the _Capitol_ would have to pool their money in order to buy a meal for one tribute. That was one expensive meal.

 _There is no such thing as a free lunch._

Eli had heard that saying many times before, but now he finally understood what it really meant.

Two feet to Eli's right stood Anna Hardy, who was wearing a skirt made out of seaweed, with seashells clamped over her breasts. She looked like a fashion model who'd just been for a swim through a seaweed reef. Eli thought that looked pretty awesome, but it might not endear as many sponsors as his teal tux.

Just then, the other Careers came up to the chariot.

"My name's Elegance and I'm from District 1" one of the girls sang, to the tune of "Stressed Out" by Twenty-One Pilots.

"Nice, _elegant_ name" Anna snickered. Eli could already tell that there was going to be some tension between those two girls. It was only a matter of time.

But Elegance didn't seem to mind the pun. "Yeah, I like my name" she said.

"So...are you guys for the Career alliance, just like usual?" Hades asked Eli and Anna.

"Yes" Anna said.

Eli didn't hesitate before saying "Totally". At least not out loud. If the other Careers knew that that wasn't the only alliance he was planning on being in, Eli would soon be a dead Trout.

* * *

"Wow! We're really _shining_ tonight!" Ira laughed. He always tried to joke around as much as possible. It helped him deal with the harsh reality of his life, which was likely to be over within a week or two. And it was a meaningful pun; the two tributes from District 5 were dressed up as lightbulbs.

Savanna didn't laugh, though. She still looked very upset. Ira had always figured that, if he was ever in the Hunger Games, he would have as little as possible interactions with his district partner as possible. But now, he knew that he wanted to cheer this girl up.

"What's wrong, Savanna?" he asked her.

"Mind if I don't talk about it?"

But Ira kept pressing her, telling her that it didn't make it any better to keep all of your feelings bottled up. You should always tell someone, even if that person might try to kill you next week. Finally, Savanna let him know.

"Four days ago...my father...I don't know how to say this...got beaten up real badly in a street fight. He's still in an induced coma, in the hospital. We don't know if he'll be okay" Savanna disclosed to Ira, sobbing the other time.

"Look, Savanna, I understand" Ira said. "But if you want to win these Games, you have to try to keep it together".

"I'll do my best" Savanna said.

* * *

The Careers passed right on by District 5 and moved on to District 6.

Vixen and Apollo were dressed up as railway conductors. This was not necessarily in line with what District 6's residents did. Despite what their district might have produced, the citizens of Panem's most populous district did not actually enjoy traveling. Not one bit. They just built the means for the rich Capitolites to travel.

Apollo was impressed with his outfit. Unlike most of his peers, he had always dreamed of being a train conductor. He'd always wanted to be the person who shouted, "All aboooooooooaaaaard!" And he wanted to look really cool in the hat, standing by the controls. He still occasionally fantasized about this, but he didn't like to admit it to himself.

And now that had been stolen away from him. Just like the apple strudel, and everything else the Gunner family cherished so much.

But there was still a chance he could get it all back. He just had to make the Capitol's citizens like him during the chariot ride. And then he'd get all the sponsors he needed. That was the mindset he had to have.

Vixen, meanwhile, was thinking, _maybe if I run fast enough, I can get out of here..._

But of course, that was impossible.

The Careers passed right by District 6 as well.

* * *

District 7's outfit was probably the one that best represented the district so far.

Isabella York was dressed up as a tree, with pool noodles for arms, and brown plating all around her body. This was embarrassing for her. She had asked for something else, but her stylist had simply said, _Sorry, this is what we feel represents District 7 the best._ So Isabella had been forced to live with it.

Conker, on the other hand, was dressed up as a squirrel.

He'd been told that the reason he'd been given this name was after the main character of a raunchy Nintendo 64 game from 2001, a super-long time ago, called _Conker's Bad Fur Day._ This outfit could not have endeared him to the citizens of the Capitol.

 _Ah, well, at least I'm not a fucking tree,_ he thought.

* * *

The Careers briefly looked at District 8, considering adding them to their alliance.

"Should we?" Margaret asked. "That girl looks strong".

"I volunteered" Miri said. "I'm a Career, just like you guys. I might be even _more_ of a Career than you guys, because there's no academy where I'm from to train".

Immediately after she said this, however, Miri wished she could take those words back. That was probably the last thing she should say if she wanted to be in the Career alliance. Instead, this would probably make her a target of theirs.

"We'll think about it, girl. What's your name, by the way?" Horatio asked.

"Miri Ellara" the girl from District 8 said.

"Nice to meet you, Miri", Elegance said, "I'm Elegance. Elegance Elysia. District 1".

"Elegance", Margaret said, "you are far too friendly. Let us move on!"

Vair and Miri watched the Careers go. They were both dressed as thimbles, which was very embarrassing for Vair. He wanted to keep some of his dignity intact even as he entered into the Capitol's control.

"This will not get us sponsors" Vair said.

* * *

Ted and Aurora, the two tributes from District 9, were wearing costumes that were almost as humiliating as District 8's costumes.

They were both dressed as large ears of corn, with kernels all over the place. In place of their arms, there was the green stalk all over the place, just like there would be on a real ear of corn. Neither of them looked happy, not that they had any reason to be. They were in the fucking _Hunger Games._ That wasn't exactly a cause to celebrate.

"Dude", Hades said as they passed the District 9 chariot, "do you realize who that is? Margaret? Horatio?"

"No" Margaret said.

"It's _Black Shade"_ Hades said. "He's the most notorious criminal in all of District 9. He's the guy who was dragged onto the stage for being Black Shade. You see, the Peacekeepers didn't know his real name, so that's why they called him that. His real name's Ted, though. Theodore Shaw".

" _Wow"_ Elegance said. "There's no way that we're letting _him_ in our alliance. Right, guys?" she said, as if she was the leader of the whole Career alliance.

In reality, though, Elegance didn't feel worthy of being a Career. She had felt so much regret at volunteering, and she was so scared of snakes, and squeamish about blood. All because of her past. But she didn't want to tell Margaret that, let alone Hades or Horatio. If so, they might decide she was no longer worthy of being a member of their alliance. They could kill her in the Bloodbath.

Now that she was actually in the Capitol, it was far worse. She knew that she was well and truly in their clutches, now. _Why_ had she thought that volunteering for the Hunger Games was a good idea? She would die just like her sister.

 _Olivia..._ she thought wistfully. Chances were good that, if there was an afterlife, Elegance would be joining her sister soon.

Eventually, the Careers upped and left District 9 behind.

"Dude" Horatio said. "We're almost out of time". He pointed towards the JumboTron, which said that they only had six minutes until the parade started.

The Careers continued on their walk down the line.

* * *

Cam and Bryson were wearing very cheap cow costumes. It looked like something out of a second-grade play, not something you would dress teenagers in when they were about to be sent off to their deaths.

"This sucks" Bryson said, which was one way to break the silence.

"I agree" Cam said. "But we just have to get through tonight while salvaging as much dignity as possible for the sake of getting sponsors. After all, you didn't think you could win the games without _sponsors_ , did you?"

Back on the ground, the Careers looked at these District 10 kids, with their lame-ass cow costumes. They didn't say anything. They could pretty much write of Districts 11 and 12, since their tributes were always so underfed that they never had any chance at all of being good fighters.

So, the Careers didn't bother checking the last two chariots. Besides, it was time to head back to their own chariots. So they did.

* * *

It was time. This was the moment the Capitol audience had been waiting for.

It was time for the tribute parade. As always, the chariots were arranged in numerical order by district. Career districts 1 and 2 would go first, then 3, 4, 5, and so on. As stated above, this was a very important ritual. A good first impression could be the difference between first place and fifth place. And that was important, because in the Hunger Games, there was no fifth-place prize. There wasn't even a second-place prize.

It was all or nothing. You either won, or you died.

The first chariot was District 1. Horatio was in his toga and crown of grapevines, while Elegance was sporting her purple dress and tiara. The crowd loved them, as they always did for the tributes from the luxury district. After all, this was the district that was the closest to the Capitol lifestyle. As they passed the stands filled with gaudily dressed Capitol citizens, people took pictures and threw flowers. Most of them ended up getting crushed by the feet of the white stallions.

District 2 came along. They weren't that attractive to look at. At least, Margaret wasn't. She was dressed as a typical District 2 blacksmith. Apparently, her father, Walter Malachi, was one of them. How very interesting, and yet very, very boring at the same time.

Hades, on the other hand, had a far more interesting costume. He was dressed up like Hades, the god from Greek mythology, complete with burgundy toga and curved staff. He smiled for the cameras, clearly trying to win more sponsors. It was probably going to work for now, but little did the Capitolites know, Hades did not have a very pleasant personality. No one would want to sponsor _him._

District 3's tributes for this year were dressed to look like stereotypical robots. It looked like a kindergartener had drawn their faces. Almost everyone in the stands laughed like crazy at the pitifully embarrassing costume. Leo and Siliconia would be lucky to survive the Bloodbath, most people thought. Neither of them really looked as though they were fit to compete in the Hunger Games. It was basically a naive twelve-year-old girl and a severely ADHD mechanic.

District 4's Eli Trout, the boy genius and famous inventor, was in a beautiful teal tuxedo. Most of the women in the Capitol wanted to date him right then and there. Complete with his fishing rod, he looked like an extremely wealthy fisherman, going out for a fancy banquet while trying to catch one more fish for sport.

Anna was far less enticing. She wore a seaweed skirt and a seashell bra. People would have felt sorry for her had it not been part of her strategy.

Anna was going to try to flirt with the guys to get ahead. In her mind, that was the best way _to_ get ahead.

District 5's costumes were what really caused the people to laugh. Savanna and Ira were dressed as lightbulbs. They flickered on and off to the beat of the horse's hooves on the ground. Again, Head Gamemaker Johan Bainbridge, watching from a small platform located high above the courtyard, really felt sorry for them.

District 6 was just as childish, and it looked like someone's Halloween costume. Apollo and Hannah were both dressed as train conductors. This caused some people to squeal with delight and amusement at just how _adorable_ this was.

District 7's Isabella and Conker were dressed as a tree and a squirrel, respectively. The people in the bleachers snickered as they rode past, but it was clear from looking at the tributes's expressions that they had absolutely no shame at all.

As for District 8...well, they were dressed as thimbles. Enough said. Same thing for the corn ears of District 9.

Finally, District 10 came up. Bryson and Camille were both wearing third-grade-play quality cow costumes. Lame, and they were unlikely to get sponsors based on that alone. Camille would have needed at least a ten from the Gamemakers. But the scores didn't come until later.

District 11's tributes, Wheat and Ember, were both stark naked and covered in fertilizer. Some people laughed and some people gasped, but it was clear that these District 11 tributes would not be forgotten anytime soon. They looked so humiliated.

And finally, District 12. Both tributes, Ash and Madison, were dressed in miner's outfits, which was pretty much what they did every year for the coal-mining district. It rarely, if ever, deviated from that. The audience was disappointed, but they understood.

The horses turned the corner to head towards the president's palace.

* * *

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen" said the voice of President Coriolanus Snow. He was wearing his normal white rose on his upper left chest, looking just as repelling as usual, with his gray hair and bloodstained lips.

"These are the tributes who will represent the districts in the sixty-third annual Hunger Games. You just saw Horatio Jewels and Elegance Elysia from District 1, Hades Blackett and Margaret Malachi from District 2, Leo Nale and Siliconia Bradley from District 3, Elias Trout and Anna Hardy from District 4, Savanna Charlton and Ira Wilson from District 5, Apollo Gunner and Hannah Ford from District 6, Conker B. Furrday and Isabella York from District 7, Vair Armani and Miri Ellara from District 8, Theodore Shaw and Aurora Baylor from District 9, Bryson Holstein and Camille Whey from District 10, Wheat Corky and Ember Hayfields from District 11, and, last but not least, Ash Cole and Madison Quarry from District 12. Let's give it up for this year's tributes!"

The whole crowd cheered. When the cheering finally died down, a good five minutes later, President Snow leaned backwards and said, "Man, that was a mouthful".

And that was their first night in the Capitol.

* * *

 **Okay. I finished this at 9:55 PM Eastern Standard Time, sitting in the living room of my family's house in Maine. It's the longest chapter yet of Labyrinth, at a grand total of 4,391 words.**

 **I would LOVE people to review this chapter. It's not the last chapter before the Games, obviously, not even close. But we're getting there. I expect just four more, because I'm erring on the side of longer chapters. One for training, one for the individual sessions with the Gamemakers, one for revealing the scores, and one for the interviews with Caesar Flickerman. These chapters will be much longer than what I have written so far for this story, so I think that updates will be far less frequent. Still, though, that gong will go off within the next few weeks, assuming I don't get beaten up in a street fight (not likely where I live).**

 **Also, if you'd vote in my poll for favorite character, that'd be great.**

 **Even as I'm typing this, I can barely keep my eyes open. Ever since I got back from camp, I've been staying up very late and waking up early. It's time for me to go to bed.**

 **Good night, everyone. This is SnowLucario, out.**


	11. 3 Days Of Excess

**It's time for the training. This is my longest chapter yet of _Labyrinth._ Before we begin, here is a disclaimer: There may not be too much plot in this chapter, just explaining how different tributes are preparing for their individual sessions with the Gamemakers. As of 7:16 AM EST on August 18, here are the poll results:**

 **Tied for 1st place, with one vote each are Apollo, Aurora, Bryson, Elegance, Isabella, Madi, Margaret, Savanna, and Vixen.**

 **Tied for 10th place, with zero votes, are the other fifteen characters. There was some inherent bias in this poll, because people voted for their own characters. Still, though, I'm glad that there are** ** _some_** **people willing to vote. If you have time to visit my Profile page, you have time to vote in the poll. Enough said.**

 **You might be wondering where I got the ideas for the rolls. I give all credit to a _Bustle_ bleogger named Martha Sorren. Thanks, Martha. I've done some baking, but just with my mother mostly, and not really bread. The last time I made bread, was, oddly enough, for a science project for school.**

 **One last thing: The chapter title, 3 Days Of Excess, comes from the title of Chapter 6 of _Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door._ I think that this is clever, and that is also one of my favorite ****video games of all time. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review, because there are a lot of little things in this chapter, even though it doesn't ultimately add up to that much plot.**

 **Here we go.**

* * *

After getting off of their chariots, the tributes were led to the Training Center, a large skyscraper with one floor for each district.

They took the elevators to their respective floors, and then it was time for dinner.

* * *

Vixen was shocked by the meal she saw before her. It was like nothing she had ever seen before in District 6, especially not growing up on the streets.

Some type of fish was slathered in a thick pink sauce. To the side, there was a bowl of some fancy yellow grain that looked like a desert landscape. For drinks, there was a large glass of some dark brown, bubbling liquid.

"They call it root beer" Apollo said. "It's good".

Vixen took a swig of the sweet liquid. She immediately recoiled at the carbonation, not expecting it to hurt to drink it so quickly. Once she had recovered, she set her root beer to the side for now.

Also on the side; a bowl of fancy-looking greens covered in blueberry sauce. Vixen didn't know what to make of this.

Once they were done eating, the Avoxes, people who had had their tongues cut out by the Capitol so that they couldn't speak, cleared the plates and then brought out dessert. It was a large yellow cake with white icing and artificial lemon leaves on the top. There was certainly nothing like this back at home!

Even if this was the last week of her life, this _was_ the life.

* * *

The following morning, training started at ten o'clock sharp. As Ted looked around at the other tributes, he thought, _Probably none of these people have_ actually _killed before. I have. I think I have an advantage in that regard._

Ted sized up his competition. The boys from 1 and 2 both looked absolutely brutal, with their burly statures. They were also extremely arrogant, Ted had realized as they had passed the District 9 chariots the previous evening. Horatio and Hades were tough competitors. But only time would tell if they were truly victor material.

The Head Trainer, a man named Atticus Cyrene, was standing in the middle of the circle of tributes, arranged like a clock, with District 12 being where the number twelve would be on a typical analog clock. Head Trainer Cyrene explained the rules.

"You guys will have two and a half days in here to handle the weapons, try the obstacle course, and work on your survival skills. On the third day, you will go up in front of the Gamemakers-", he gestured to Johan Bainbridge and several other Gamemakers who were in the room, "and show them what you've got. They will assign you a score from one to twelve based on your performance.

"During these three days, you are _not allowed_ to engage in any combative exercise whatsoever with another tribute. If you do so, the consequences will be...bad. We have five assistants on hand. If you wish to practice with a partner, just say the word.

"You got that?"

The twenty-four tributes all nodded.

"Any questions?"

All of the children shook their heads. Atticus Cyrene had pretty much clarified everything they had needed to know.

"Okay" Head Trainer Cyrene said, "here is the edible plants station. Two people can go against each other in the matching game. We've also got camouflage and fire making stations. There's the obstacle course over there, weights stations, and weapons stations in the far corner. You've got three days to get ready for your private sessions. So I suggest you get to it now".

He blew his whistle. The tributes took that as their signal to go out there and start training for the Games.

* * *

Miri was working at the edible plants station when Em came up to her and asked her to join an alliance with her.

"No thanks, Em. Let me just do this right now, okay?"

"But would you be okay with _any_ alliance with anyone else?"

"I don't think so, to be honest" Miri said. "No matter how many allies you have, eventually there's only one victor. The sooner you accept that, the better chance you have of winning the Games. It's a wonder the Careers always trust each other not to kill them in their sleep".

"I know" Em said.

Miri was playing the memory game right now. The edible plants lit up as yellow, and the poisonous plants lit up as red. Of course, the colors were only there for a split second. It was then time for her to tap on as many yellow plants as possible while avoiding the red ones. This game was fun, but it got old real fast. Besides, there was really only so far it could get you in terms of impressing the Gamemakers. And that was Miri's goal. After all, she had volunteered in order to get into the Games and gain some glory for her district. In order for that to happen, she had to _win,_ not look like some suicidal eighteen-year-old who didn't know that the only one hundred percent guaranteed way to survive the Hunger Games was to _not volunteer if your name wasn't called!_

But now she had. And the Careers weren't going to let her into their pack after all. Maybe Miri should focus on stations that the Careers didn't. She could obviously only have provoked them with her bold statement last night. They would be out to get her as soon as that gong rang out on the morning of the Games, which was looking closer and closer every hour. Which, of course, it was.

* * *

Eli had already mastered knot-tying. After all, he was from District 4, and being a teen inventor really did require you to be good with your hands. As a result, Eli thought he'd be wasting his time if he spent too much time practicing there.

Instead, he decided to go over to the weapons station. He didn't want to build too much muscle prior to the Games; the more muscle you had, the more calories you burned, and, in an environment where there wasn't too much food to go around, that was not a good thing. However, having some basic skills at weaponry could help.

Eli picked up a trident and began swinging it around. He made sure that he wasn't near any other tributes before doing this. He didn't want to get in trouble with the Gamemakers for accidentally injuring one of them. Eventually, he threw the trident towards the target, ten yards away.

It barely nicked the edge of the target before sliding off. Eli must not have thrown it hard enough.

He went to retrieve the trident and threw again. This time, it was on the borderline of the blue and red circles, southeast of the yellow center.

"Third time's the charm" Eli said quietly. He picked up his trident, aimed a little higher and to the left, and threw with all of his might...

"Bull's-eye!" he exclaimed. He thought he'd figured out what skill he would show the Gamemakers.

* * *

Conker and Isabella were working together at the camouflage station. They were both trying to paint themselves to look as if they were part of a tree.

"This is useless" Conker said in his slightly lisping voice.

"Well, if you think it's useless, why don't you go over to another station?" Isabella snapped at him.

"No...I like being with you" said Conker.

"Then _stay here,_ because _I'm_ _working at camouflage_ " Isabella shot back. She continued painting her arm, which she was pretty good at. Being a paramedic really did have its benefits when it came to training for the Hunger Games. Isabella was used to working under pressure. She was used to fixing wounds, starting intravenous lines, etc. All of that required you to be good with your hands, which Isabella was.

She hadn't thought that the odds had been in her favor. After all, she wasn't a Career. She was from District 7, which was the furthest one from the Capitol. And yet, here she was. Hopefully, this would get her a six or a seven from the Gamemakers. She didn't want a nine, or even an eight. And _definitely_ not a 10, 11, or 12. Too high a score from an outer-district tribute like herself could make her a target for the Careers. She'd watched enough Hunger Games to know that. And, she frequently rewatched them, studying just in case she was ever reaped.

"Let's go somewhere else" she told Conker. "Let's practice with axes".

* * *

Leo was practicing what he was best at, which was starting fires. He used some tinder and flint to create a tiny little flame, so cute. It was then so satisfying to build around it and watch the little baby flame grow. Right now, it was four inches high.

Leo continued doing what he was doing, building a teepee of sorts for the flame to consume slowly. He was going to see how high he could get it. The fire making station was enclosed in a barrier, so that the whole place wouldn't go up in flames if it got a little bit out of control. Leo just wanted to get a decent training score and have a chance at winning.

Siliconia was also at the fire station, working at the same time as Leo. She wasn't having nearly as much luck, though, which wasn't surprising. She just didn't have the same skill with fire that he did. Leo had asked her if she had wanted to form an alliance with him.

She'd refused.

"I'm sorry, Leo Nale. But there's only one victor. And what if it came down to the two of us? I could never kill you like that. Not after starting an alliance with you. Besides, I don't know if I could ever trust anyone enough not to kill me in my sleep".

Leo nodded, but inside he wasn't happy. With an alliance with Siliconia, his district partner, even a twelve-year-old district partner, he'd started to believe that District 3 might actually have a chance this year. But now these hopes had been dashed somewhat.

"Oh. Well, Uncle Leo's going to change your mind at some point, Siliconia Bradley. You just wait!"

* * *

Vixen was on the obstacle course, working on her speed.

She scrambled across the cargo net, up the climbing wall, and across the swinging ropes. The entire time, she was looking out for trainers with clubs, who were trying to hit her. Vixen, much like Leo, had decided to work on perfecting the skills she already had rather than trying to acquire new ones with so little time before the Hunger Games started.

It wasn't just speed, but agility that this was helping. So far, among all of the tributes who had run the obstacle course, Vixen had the best record time, at fifty-one seconds. She was going to use these skills to get in and grab something from the Cornucopia. That was going to be her strategy, because she figured that she was fast enough for that. But she'd have to wait a while until she actually could find out if that was really best for her.

* * *

At 12:30, all of the tributes were called in for lunch. In addition to the filet mignon, shrimp, and onions, there were twelve baskets of rolls, one specifically for rolls from a particular district.

 **(I will now talk about the rolls from the SnowLucario districts)**

District 1's rolls were golden-brown and shaped like crowns. They were extremely fancy, and the shape reminded them that, besides the Capitol obviously, District 1 were kind of the kings and queens of Panem. There was also edible sugar glitter on top.

District 2's rolls were hard raisin-and-oatmeal bread raised up using cornmeal. It was meant to show that District 2 was _strong._

 _Which, of course, they are,_ Hades thought.

District 3 had bite-sized, square-shaped rolls. They were pretty good, but of course they were gone early. They were just that popular.

District 4's rolls were very cute, shaped like fish. There was just enough blue-green seaweed to be visible through the dough in certain places. This was another roll that was gone early. So early, in fact, that they actually brought in more District 4 rolls due to the very high demand for them.

District 5 had challah-shaped rolls with small seeds that were made in the shape of lightning bolts. These were not the size of full loaves of challah, and were only a little bigger than the rolls you might find at a Bertucci's, another now-defunct chain.

District 6's rolls were dark and shaped to look like tires. Which was fitting, considering that 6 was the transportation district.

District 7's rolls? They were unique in that it was shaped like normal bread, except there was one key difference. Darker bread was rolled into it so that it looked kind of like a Yule log. It might have been the least popular, though. Aside from the next district's.

As for District 8, they were small, cracker-like wafers. **(Obviously, since this is an AU, there is no mockingly symbol on them. Just disappointing crackers. Like, _seriously,_ couldn't the citizens of 8 have come up with something better?)**

District 9's bread was standard, considering that it was the grain district. They took bread making much more seriously there, since it was actually their district's industry.

District 10's rolls were little rolls shaped like meringue cookies, except there was a twist to them. Each roll had a spoonful of ground beef inside, to fit more with the theme of livestock. That was pretty awesome.

As for District 11, **their bread has been described in canon, so I won't go into too much detail. It's just ration-grain dark bread, shaped into crescent-shaped rolls with poppy seeds added.**

And District 12's rolls were super-ugly rolls made from tessera grain. The basket was still mostly full by the end of the meal.

Not that the bread mattered that much. Conker was extremely nervous. All he was thinking about was what the fuck he'd do after lunch. He'd spent the morning at the camouflage station with Isabella. But maybe he should try something else. He would have tried to get some basic weaponry knowledge, but that probably wouldn't get him that far, considering he planned to simply abandon the Cornucopia in the beginning. After all, most people who died in the initial Bloodbath ran in rather than running for the hills. Conker would not let himself be one of those.

Neither would Aurora. Although she no longer had realistic hopes to become a biological engineer, she still hoped to be someone who wasn't just one of those nameless, starving workers from the Wheatlands. Maybe she could do it if she did her district proud, even if she didn't win. But in order to do _that,_ it would help to get her priorities straight in terms of what to do for the last two days of training before they faced the Gamemakers.

When lunch was over, the training continued.

* * *

Wheat and Ira were still working at the edible plants station when Vair showed up. The boys were all waiting in line to play the memory game when Vair asked the question that was on all of their minds.

"Are you guys forming an alliance with me, so that it's the three of us?"

Vair worried that this was the wrong thing to say. To his relief, though, Wheat laughed.

"Wasn't planning on it. There can only be one winner, and alliances formed too early in the Games are risky. But so are those formed too late. I guess I'll play it by year, right?"

Ira agreed with him. He said, "Assuming I survive the Bloodbath, I might align with someone if I come across them. But until then, just like Wheat said, I'm not planning on it".

Vair nodded and stood back to watch the boy from District 2 practice with an axe.

* * *

Hades was using the axe to chop the heads off a line of dummies. It was hard work, but Hades Blackett was a strong boy. He cut through all of their heads in record time. By the time he had reached a hundred, he was soaked in sweat.

"Good job, Hades" the trainer said. "You did the dummy line faster than anyone ever has. Five minutes and forty-seven seconds".

Hades laughed to himself. The Gamemakers would be impressed. After all, Hades had been using axes ever since he was a little boy. It was as though he should have been in District 7 rather than District 2. The axe might be Hades's key to victory, to triumph over the other Careers.

"Can I spar with you?" he asked the trainer.

"Sure, Blackett, of course" the trainer said back.

Hades got his axe at the ready. The trainer readied his. Both of them were much fancier than the ones Hades was used to back in District 2. Those ones were partially overtaken by rust, but these axes were sleek and black, so clean that Hades could see his own reflection in them. He looked at his dark brown eyes and his greasy black hair. He sure looked good, a ruthless killing machine. Just the type of person who had the greatest chance of winning these Games.

When the trainer gave the signal, Hades swung his axe at the trainer, careful not to decapitate him. Hades was brutal, but he wasn't _that_ brutal. He wasn't supposed to kill this grown man. He had to kill other teenagers to make it back home and get the fame and fortune for his district. And himself, of course.

Hades swung the axe wildly, but with deadly precision. It was going to be hard for anyone to overcome him. The trainer tried to get him to ease off, but Hades didn't know his own strength.

Eventually, the trainer collapsed. Hades had caused a large, gaping wound to his stomach.

* * *

 _"Everyone, stop what you're doing right now!"_

The twenty-four tributes all looked at Head Gamemaker Bainbridge. He'd been watching the whole time.

"Hades Blackett here has wounded one of our trainers. He is headed to time-out. He will not be allowed to work on training until tomorrow".

There was a little bit of mumbling. Hades had overstepped the line a little bit? Wow, that was news.

"Everyone, QUIET!" the Head Gamemaker shouted.

The tributes, at Johan Bainbridge's booming voice, settled down.

"You may now go back to whatever you may have been doing. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

* * *

After Hades's departure, Savanna and Ash were working at the knot-tying station. Savanna mastered this quickly, but Ash's hands could not stop shaking. He would be absolutely useless in that regard, Savanna thought. But then again, District 12's tributes could usually be written off almost right away.

Savanna thought about asking Ash for an alliance. But she almost immediately decided that he'd be more of a liability than an asset to her team, if she intended to have one. Which she didn't.

Elegance, meanwhile, was apart from the other Careers, running the obstacle course. She was not particularly quick, far more methodical and steady. She did make a few stumbles along the way, though. From far away, Horatio said, "She's no Career. I doubt she gets an eight, let alone a ten".

"Well, should we still have her, then?" Margaret asked. "If she's as weak as you say she is?"

"I don't know" Horatio said. "It all depends on how she does in front of the Gamemakers. If her score's anything below an 8, she's out. The blood earlier..."

Margaret didn't need him to finish the sentence. There had been an instance earlier in the day when Elegance had pricked her finger a little bit with a mace she had been practicing with. There had barely been any blood involved, but still the girl had turned pale. If she really _was_ that squeamish about blood, there was no way that they could keep her.

"I know" Margaret said. "I just wish Hades was here..."

* * *

Hades was currently being kept in a small, circular room, much like a dungeon that his namesake might have kept prisoners in. For people from outer districts, this _was_ essentially a dungeon. But Hades didn't see it that way. He saw it as the key to glory. And he wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way.

Yes, sure, maybe he should have been a little more careful with that axe. But he didn't see that as his fault, not really. The trainer was just really bad with an axe compared to him. That was what Hades thought.

He'd be in this room until dinnertime, when he'd eat with the rest of the tributes. The next morning, he could resume training as normal, but having lost several valuable hours of training time.

This wasn't the way he wanted to start his run at the Hunger Games, but he'd made his bed, and now he had to lie in it.

* * *

Ash and Madi from District 12 were working together at the weapons station. This was not likely to help them too much unless they ran into the Cornucopia, which neither of them really intended to do. They could only hold out hope that they would somehow acquire a weapon later on.

Madi had talked to Ash earlier to ask if the older boy wanted to form an alliance with her, but he had said no.

"Only one victor, Madi. The sooner you accept that basic fact, the more likely you are to be that victor".

Madi knew that was true deep down. Other than the Careers, there were often no major alliances formed before the Games. If you ran into another tribute who wasn't a Career, you'd usually either form an alliance, or one of you would end up killing the other. That was just the way the Hunger Games were played.

Ash nocked an arrow, but it was clear that he was untrained with a bow. He missed the target by miles, and the only thing he could think about was how unlikely it was that he would ever see District 12 again.

* * *

The following morning, Hades was allowed back into the training room.

His presence raised some eyebrows, and people were definitely intimidated by him. After all, he'd wounded the trainer and probably not lost any sleep over it. Hades was definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with in the arena. Which, of course, the District 2 boy was every year. Like everything else in these Games, that was just how it went.

"Don't worry, guys. I've learned my lesson" Hades said.

He ran a hand through his greasy black hair, making sure that the other tributes saw that he looked nervous. In fact, Hades Blackett was barely nervous at all. The only thing he was worried about was catching up on lost time.

On the other side of the training room, Apollo was working on his skills with building fires. He'd grown up in District 6, so he could definitely use a certain level of survival knowledge, in which he was sorely lacking. He just wished there were guns in the Hunger Games. He laughed at his own joke. _Gunner._ But, of course, there were never any pistols, rifles, or anything else with a trigger at the Cornucopia. He guessed that the Games would be over too quickly that way.

Apollo had gone into this with little or no experience outdoors. As it turned out, though, he was a fast learner. It was after only fifteen minutes of carefully constructing a tower of tinder that he managed to get a small flame perhaps two inches tall. He continued gingerly nursing it until he had an inferno that, if this was _Survivor,_ would have easily cut the rope to get him into that final three.

He'd really picked up fire making quickly. He decided to move to something he was better at: knife throwing.

* * *

Apollo hit the targets easily. It felt like a rhythm to him, as it always did; once he got one knife into the target, he hit his stride and was therefore likely to get many more. There were some tributes, however, who were not having as easy a time with the knives as he was.

He was just picking up his ten knives when a tall boy with shaggy blonde hair came in. Apollo recognized him as the boy from District 10.

"What's your name again?" the District 6 boy asked.

"I'm Bryson Holstein, District 10" the other boy said.

Apollo and Bryson exchanged small talk for a little bit longer before a girl came up. Bryson recognized _her_ as the girl from District 9. What was her name again?

As if reading Bryson's thoughts, the girl said, "Aurora Baylor. That's my name. I'm from District 9, and I worked long hours in the fields of the Wheatlands. I wanted to be a biological engineer before...you know".

"Yeah" Apollo said. "That kinda sucks. But what made you want to be a biological engineer, whatever that is?"

Aurora said, "I wanted to be able to grow more food to feed the citizens of 9. I wanted to be someone other than the nameless, starving masses who work in the wheat fields. And now, those hopes have been dashed".

"What if you win, girl?" Bryson asked in his best flirtatious tone of voice.

Aurora seemed very turned off by Bryson's flirtatiousness. She turned around angrily and left.

"Dude" Apollo said. "That's not the way you talk to girls you just met".

Those words hung in the air. Apollo and Bryson both knew that the problem wasn't that there wasn't _enough_ food, but that the Capitol hogged it all. So Aurora's growing more wouldn't do jack shit for the districts.

* * *

The following afternoon, Horatio Jewel walked to the front of the line. The arrogant Career tribute from District 1 would be the first to demonstrate his skills in front of the Gamemakers. He could only hope to do well.

* * *

 **Okay. I THINK I covered just about everyone in this chapter. I finished this at about 7:49 AM on the morning of August 19. I did make the poll a blind poll to remove any bias. But, in case you are wondering, here are the current results:**

 **Tied for 1st: Elegance, Isabella, Savanna, and Vixen with two votes each.**

 **Tied for 5th: Apollo, Aurora, Bryson, Madi, Margaret, and Miri with one vote apiece.**

 **Tied for 11th: Anna, Ash, Cam, Conker, Eli, Em, Hades, Horatio, Ira, Leo, Siliconia, Ted, Vair, and Wheat, all of whom have yet to get on the board.**

 **All right, guys. The next chapter is the tributes facing the Gamemakers. Hope you look forward to i!**

 **SnowLucario out.**


	12. Bainbridge's Boredom

**It's SnowLucario again. Slightly longer wait than I usually have for my updates, but you'll need to get used to that, because my school is starting up again soon.**

 **The next thing is that this chapter is absolutely massive, at nearly nine thousand words. Reason being, I wanted to combine the individual training sessions in front of the Gamemakers with the revealing of the scores. I hope that you guys enjoy and review, because there will sure be a lot to talk about with regards to the happenings in this chapter.**

 **Also, this is who I picture some of my characters as:**

 **Horatio: How Apollo is depicted in Percy Jackson**

 **Elegance: Cher Lloyd as she looked in the "Want U Back" music video.**

 **Hades: A younger version of Snape**

 **Leo: Leo Valdez**

 **Anna: Bikini Cher Lloyd from the same music video.**

 **Conker: Conker the squirrel**

 **Isabella: Rosalyn, Calvin's babysitter from** _ **Calvin and Hobbes,**_ **probably the only comic I like**

 **Aurora: Judy Hopps (yes, really. I'm weird, okay?)**

 **Other than that, I don't really have a mental image of individual characters, just the scene in general.**

* * *

Head Gamemaker Johan Bainbridge was not in the mood to watch six hours of tributes's training sessions.

He'd just gotten back from an exhausting hockey match, and he only had time to take off his gear before he was required to go to the Training Center and view the twenty-four tributes, who were going to all present their skills to him and his cohorts. He'd then have to rank them on a scale of one to twelve based on their skills.

It was one in the afternoon, and this would become a whole lot more bearable when they came in with the buffet. But that might be a long time from now.

Bainbridge's assistant, Tullius Ludos, handed his boss the schedule for the training sessions. He looked it over:

 _1300-Horatio Jewel (17)_

 _1315-Elegance Elysia (16)_

 _1330-Hades Blackett (18)_

 _1345-Margaret Malachi (18)_

 _1400-Leo Nale (15)_

 _1415-Siliconia Bradley (12)_

 _1430-Eli Trout (17)_

 _1445-Anna Hardy (18)_

 _1500-Ira Wilson (18)_

 _1515-Savanna Charlton (14)_

 _1530-Apollo Gunner (16)_

1545-Hannah _"Vixen" Ford (14)_

 _1600-Conker B. Furrday (18)_

 _1615-Isabella York (18)_

 _1630-Vair Armani (17)_

 _1645-Miri Ellara (18)_

 _1700-Ted Shaw (18)_

 _1715-Aurora Baylor (18)_

 _1730-Bryson Holstein (17)_

 _1745-Camille "Cam" Whey_

 _1800-Wheat Corky (14)_

 _1815-Ember "Em" Hayfields (13)_

 _1830-Ash Cole (18)_

 _1845-Madison "Madi" Quarry (14)_

"Interesting" Bainbridge said. "We've got a lot of ground to cover, guys. Let's get started".

"Okay" Ludos said.

* * *

The first tribute to come in was Horatio.

"Today", the boy from District 1 said, "I will be demonstrating my skills with a mace. I think that I am pretty good".

"All right" the head Gamemaker said. "Do it".

Horatio went over to the weapons rack and picked up a mace. Then, he hesitated a bit.

"I want to spar with a trainer" he said.

"Okay. Trainer Lewis, will you spar with Horatio?"

"Okay" said a young man in the corner. He put on some armor and asked Horatio to do the same. It took up five of their precious fifteen minutes just to suit up.

"3...2...1...GO!"

Horatio struck out first with his mace. It hit the trainer in the stomach, but the trainer was good at parrying attacks. Horatio's morning star was tangled around the trainer's.

After a few minutes of this, Horatio finally managed to disarm the trainer.

Horatio then tried to go to the weapons rack to grab a sword. But the Gamemakers wouldn't let him.

"We need time for the next tribute" Head Gamemaker Bainbridge said.

So Horatio left, silently brooding about how he could have done better.

After making sure that he was well and truly out of earshot, the Gamemakers debated what score to give him.

"I think that a 9 or 10 would be best, but I'm leaning more towards 9" said one of them.

"I agree" said another.

A few minutes later, Elegance came in. She selected a mace from the rack, just like Horatio. Unlike her district partner, she did not wish to practice with a partner.

"But, Miss Elysia", Johan said, "you kind of _have_ to spar with a trainer if you're demonstrating your skills with a mace. Otherwise, we won't know how good you are".

"All right" Elegance said reluctantly. So the same trainer from earlier kept his armor on, prepared to fight Elegance medieval-style.

It was a contest. Both Elegance and the trainer got a few good hits in, but eventually Elegance was disarmed. She looked at her hand, which had blood on it. It was her own.

"Oh, my God" Elegance said weakly. She shook side to side, as if she were about to faint.

Then, she _did_ faint.

"Carry her away, Xander" Johan said, pointing to another one of the trainers.

Xander carried Elegance's unconscious form towards the medical center. She'd be okay, but her training score would definitely take a hit.

"This'll be interesting" said Johan. "We can't give her an 8 or 9. Definitely not a ten. The Careers might not let her in their alliance. This could make for a very different competition this year".

As he said this, Johan Bainbridge was thinking, _Two down. Twenty-two to go..._

This was his first year as a Gamemaker, and he had had no idea just how monotonous it could get during the individual training sessions. But he'd made his bed, and now he would have to lie in it. At least a buffet would be coming in eventually, and that would make things somewhat more bearable.

The third tribute who would demonstrate his skills was Hades Blackett of District 2. He was going to use an axe to impress the Gamemakers. Hopefully. Hades, after all, was a Career tribute. And they usually scored very well in training.

As Johan looked at Hades's scowling face and greasy black hair, the Head Gamemaker knew that this kid was probably going to be an archetypical brutal Career boy, just like there was pretty much every year. Some things never changed.

Hades picked up his axe and asked for the Gamemakers to place an artificial tree in the middle of the room, so as best to show off his skills. When they finally got it in two minutes later, Hades chopped straight through it with one hit. Then, he decapitated several more dummies. After this pattern went on three more times, the Gamemakers dismissed him.

Hades walked out of the room, confident that he must have gotten at least a ten. People would be _falling over themselves_ to sponsor him. The betting odds were probably going to be in his favor this year.

"That's quite a killing machine" one of the junior Gamemakers said to Bainbridge. "Let's give him a ten".

Bainbridge thought that made sense. But then a trainer lifted up his shirt, having heard that exchange. "Look at the wound he gave me" he said.

"So are you saying we should give him a twelve?" Bainbridge asked.

"No" another junior Gamemaker said. "I just think we should bump it up to eleven".

Bainbridge nodded again. One through ten was the standard range, while eleven might have been someone who was _ridiculously_ skilled, and twelve was someone you _really_ wanted to make a target. An 11 sounded like it fit Hades Blackett well. No one knew why it was twelve instead of ten or a hundred, especially considering the top two scores were rarely used, but still.

The next person to come in was Margaret Malachi, also of District 2. She chose the ninja stars as a weapon to use in order to show the Gamemakers that she was worth sponsoring. She then lined up in front of the targets.

"We're ready when you are" Johan said.

Margaret flung her first star. It hit the target cleanly. She allowed herself a brief moment of self-congratulation before she continued throwing.

After hitting the target ten consecutive times, the Gamemakers said that she could leave. Margaret left the room with her head held high, convinced that she would get a 10.

"Definite victor material" Gamemaker Ludos said. "Shall we give her a ten?"

"I definitely think so. All in favor?" Johan asked the rest of them.

The other Gamemakers nodded.

"A ten it is, then".

Speaking of ten, it was ten minutes before Leo Nale walked in for his training session. The boy from District 3 seemed even more hyperactive than usual, as if he'd had far too much coffee. Which, of course, he probably had, since coffee was one thing, among many, that was abundant in the Capitol.

"Today, I am going to show you guys how to build a fire" Leo began.

The Gamemakers were a little surprised at how casual Leo was being. After all, showing himself as a highly skilled tribute could mean the difference between life and death. But they decided to sit back and watch Leo demonstrate his fire making skill.

Leo was a natural, that was for sure. He built a teepee, and, even though he couldn't simply form fire in his palm, it sometimes felt that way. It didn't take long until he had a tall, hot blaze going. It could have cooked an entire cow within two minutes. That was how good Leo was with his fire. Surely that would get him _at least_ an 8.

As soon as Leo was out of the room, the Gamemakers began talking amongst themselves to decide what score to give the boy who had just left.

"I don't know what we should give him" Ludos admitted. "I think that he certainly showed extreme proficiency in fire making. However, that's not necessarily a skill that will get you too far in the Games. This arena's not going to have many places for him to set aflame. I think anywhere in the seven-to-nine range would be a safe score to give him".

The Gamemakers deliberated on this for several minutes. Before they knew it, the door opened and a small girl walked in.

Johan Bainbridge had to refer to his sheet. _Siliconia Bradley, District 3, he read._

"You're the youngest one here, right?" he asked the girl.

"Yes. I'm twelve".

"Well, what are you going to show us today? We're kind of on a tight schedule". In reality, they were not on a tight schedule at all-no matter what, they still could only begin one tribute's session every fifteen minutes. For what reason, nobody except President Snow knew. And nobody questioned the president's judgment on this. And, in the  
Head Gamemaker's opinion, the end could not come soon enough.

"I just want to say that..."

"Spit it out!"

"Well" Siliconia said.

Siliconia began to sing, much to the annoyance of the Gamemakers:

The Gamemakers tried to get her to stop wasting their time singing pop music from pre-apocalyptic times, but Siliconia wasn't going to have any of it.

By now, they were practically shushing her.

"Is there anything else you're going to do?" Bainbridge said in a voice that showed that Siliconia was testing his sanity to the breaking point, but he was trying not to show it. "After all, this isn't _Panem's Got Talent_ ".

"Yeah" she said.

And, before the Gamemakers could stop her, Siliconia broke out into song again.

"Look" Bainbridge said. "If you're not going to do _anything_ else, other than sing _ridiculously old pop music_ , we must ask you to leave".

These words clearly had no effect on Siliconia, who just kept on singing.

By this point, the Gamemakers were practically _shooing_ Siliconia out of the room. As soon as she was out of sight, Johan buried his face in his hands. Siliconia had been a truly embarrassing tribute. All she had done was sing. On the bright side, though, at least it wouldn't be difficult to give her a score.

* * *

The buffet arrived, relieving the Gamemakers's agony somewhat. There was stuffed pizza, filet mignon, and all sorts of other fancy dishes that the people in the districts were not ever able to eat, simply because they couldn't afford it. Other than the very richest, of course.

As Johan took a swig of his wine, he tried to remember who was next. _Oh, yeah. It's that kid genius from District 4._

Eli Trout was walking into the room. The Gamemakers's eyes turned towards him.

"Today", Eli said, "I am going to be demonstrating my skills with a machete. Then, I will work on knot-tying".

"Hold on" Bainbridge said. "You can't just do both of them. There's no time. Choose one skill you want to show us".

"Okay" Eli said. "In that case, I'll show you how I can use a machete to kill people easily!"

Eli walked over to the weapons rack and grabbed a long machete. He used it to whip off the head of a dummy easily. He then continued stabbing them through the hearts.

He had considered doing knot-tying to get a lower score. However, he had not done that because, with a lower score, he would be more likely to be seen as playing both sides. And that was the _last_ thing he wanted his fellow Careers to think. It would be fatal to his game.

When he was done, Eli dismissed himself. The Gamemakers were certainly impressed with him. He was a pretty good player in these Games, or would be once they actually started. The Hunger Games wouldn't start for a few more days.

"I think that a 10 would be a good score to give Eli. He seems to be very good at fighting, and from what we've heard, he's extremely smart and dangerous. Does that sound good?" said Ludos.

Everyone agreed with that. And so, Eli Trout would be likely to get a lot of sponsors.

The next person was the girl of District 4, Anna Hardy. Her cold blue eyes scanned the weapons rack, the fire making station, the edible plants station, and the Gamemakers, who were digging into their pizza. Anna wondered how she could get their attention. Since the buffet usually came in the early-to-middle part of the training sessions, the Gamemakers paid less and less attention to the tributes. By District 4, the Gamemakers would already be restless and sick of watching the tributes train. Anna, although she was not one to have too many emotions, felt bad for the tributes from 8, 9, 10, and especially District 12, who always went last. By then, the Gamemakers were stoned out of their minds. There might be no getting their attention if they were really drunk.

Anna eventually decided on archery, so she went and grabbed a bow. She nocked an arrow and aimed for the target, three concentric circles of blue, red, and yellow in the middle. She pulled it back and released.

The arrow pierced the bull's-eye. That was a pretty impressive shot, Anna thought to herself. She really hoped that the Gamemakers had been watching.

However, it appeared that they hadn't been. They were still too focused on that foie gras. Anna wondered what way she could get attention. She settled for yelling as loudly as she could.

"GUYS! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING ME SHOOT ARROWS INTO THE TARGET!"

That got their attention quickly. Johan Bainbridge turned around and watched as Anna shot another arrow straight into the yellow ring. And another. And another.

Eight arrows and many drinks later, Bainbridge told Anna she could leave. She did.

The next person to go in for her training session was Ira of District 5. Finally, they were a third of the way through the individual training sessions. There was a light at the end of this maze of tunnels. Somehow, Johan, as well as the other Gamemakers, would get through this.

Ira began throwing spears at targets. He didn't hit dead center, not even close. It must be said that Ira Wilson was not very good with weaponry at all, and he probably should have chosen a different skill to show off to the Gamemakers. _Oh, well,_ he thought. _Too late for that now._

Fifteen minutes later, when the Gamemakers dismissed him, Ira felt that he had completely embarrassed himself in front of them. There was no way he'd get anything above a four.

"Good riddance" Ludos said. "He sure was horrible".

Bainbridge nodded. But this was an endurance. Fifteen more tributes to go, most of whom might be just as bad, if not worse, than Ira. But that might make it more entertaining. After all, he always enjoyed watching people fail in comedic ways.

For Johan Bainbridge was a student of the Hunger Games. Even since he'd been born in the year 17 ADD, he'd watched every single Games, which even people in the Capitol were required to watch every year. Of course, most of the people there loved it. Johan knew the best strategies to win in all areas-offense, defense, survival, and pre-Games things as well, such as what to do during training and your interview with Caesar Flickerman. He'd re-watched them all, several times.

Savanna wasn't quite as bad as Ira, but she wasn't great with the knife either. She kept dropping it, which wasn't like her. Since she lived on the street back in District 5, she'd had to defend herself. But she'd never been quite as nervous as she was today. Seeing the Gamemakers had really brought it all home. She wasn't here to dress as a lightbulb and eat fancy food. She was here to die a horrible death for the amusement of the Capitol. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.

Eventually, she was dismissed, which, in Bainbridge's opinion, was doing her a favor. That was less time that she'd be using to embarrass herself in front of the Gamemakers. Maybe she could get a 4 instead of a 2 or a 1. And then, he decided on the score. He smiled. That was ten tributes done, fourteen remaining to present their skills.

Apollo Gunner of District 6 walked in. He decided to show his most unique skill, which was healing. After all, the Greek god Apollo, who no one really believed in anymore, was the god of healing. But he didn't have any wounds to heal.

To the Gamemakers's shock, he fixed that right away.

Apollo took a dagger made a thin cut down his right leg. It was a bloody red streak. Johan was wondering, _Why the hell is he cutting himself. That's probably one of the_ last _things you should do just prior to the Hunger Games._

But, to their amazement, Apollo immediately went over to the plants station and pressed some yellow plant over his wound. He then just sat there.

"Well?" Johan asked Apollo. "Aren't you going to do anything? We're wasting daylight here".

"Just wait" Apollo said back.

Ten minutes passed. The Gamemakers were getting impatient. Finally, Ludos just said, "It's just about time to go, Apollo Gunner. What is...oh. I see".

Apollo's cut had completely healed.

 _Well,_ Bainbridge thought, _that's certainly remarkable._ _But should I give him a high score for that? Because it didn't look he really did that much; he seems to have just been born with that innate ability. In which case, more power to him. But still..._

The Head Gamemaker's train of thought had been interrupted by Apollo leaving and Vixen entering.

The obstacle course had, up until 3:45 PM, been untouched by tributes coming in for their individual training sessions. Vixen changed that. She walked over to the obstacle course. The trainers manning it got their clubs at the ready.

Vixen had unbelievable speed. She dodged, ducked, dipped, dove, and dodged some more. **(I give all credit to the movie** ** _Dodgeball_** **for that)** _ **.**_ Then, she ran back to the Gamemakers.

"Impressive" Ludos said. "You may go, Vixen".

Vixen left the room.

 _Yes..._ Johan thought, a grin forming on his face. _We're halfway done._

* * *

But they still had half of the tributes left to go. And the next tribute reminded Bainbridge exactly _why_ he was hating this so much.

Conker of District 7 barely even did anything. All he did was stand in the middle of the training room and puke. He threw up and threw up. Clearly, he'd been drinking too much.

After two minutes of this, Conker just passed out, and the Head Gamemaker had the medical team cart him to the medical room. Then, Johan called for the cleaning crew. The area had to be fully free of vomit for the next tribute, because that was just disgusting.

It was only fitting that the next tribute to come in was a paramedic internist. Isabella York was striding in, looking like a babysitter whose client was causing a lot of trouble in the house. She was determined to show off her skills.

Isabella wasted no time at all. She went over to the knot-tying station, and, in thirty seconds, she had created a perfect Prusik knot. Now all she needed was a leather harness, and then they could go rock climbing. Of course, though, there was no climbing wall in the Training Center.

"That's enough" Johan Bainbridge said from the buffet table. He was, by now, feeling a little fuzzy, but not nearly as much as Conker. The next morning, he'd probably feel horrible. But that didn't matter right now. He had to fulfill his duties as Head Gamemaker today, worry about massive hangover tomorrow.

"Already?" Isabella asked. She'd just been getting started. But clearly, the Gamemakers could already tell that she was no novice at knot-tying. So she walked out, confident that she must have scored at least a six, if nothing higher.

"Next" Bainbridge boomed.

In came an Indian-looking boy of about seventeen years old. Johan had to consult his notes before saying, "You're Vair Armani, right?"

"Yes. I am Vair" the boy said.

"Well, Vair, show us what you've got. We're all eyes and ears".

Vair was quite skilled with all sorts of survival skills. But he wanted to stay off the radar. That was going to be his strategy in these Games. So he only focused on building a fire. He stacked up some tinder in a small teepee shape. Then, rubbed two sticks together.

Nothing. There was no hint of a spark at all. Vair worked desperately, really wanting to get some kind of a flame going. He didn't want to get a 1 in training. That would just be embarrassing. As it was, his score wouldn't be good. But that had been his whole plan to begin with, so it wasn't like that really mattered. Still, though, it didn't help his chances of getting sponsored, that was for sure.

Eventually, the Gamemakers got tired of watching Vair feebly attempt to start a fire. They dismissed him.

"That was a sorry excuse for a tribute" Ludos said.

"Imagine if he was a Career! Then, they'd never let him in their alliance. Just like Elegance probably won't be in the Career alliance this year either!". That was a female Gamemaker talking.

"Enough, both of you!" Bainbridge snapped. "We still have nine tributes to go!"

They both quieted down.

The next person in was Miri. She was, of course, also from District 8, just like Vair. But there was a key difference between Vair and Miri.

With Vair, you could tell that he was from the outer districts. He was pretty unskilled with survival skills, which was not surprising for the highly urban District 8. He was going to get a very low score in training, perhaps only a two, but that might not mean anything. Maybe he was holding back on purpose.

But Miri fearlessly asked one of the trainers to have a sword fight with her. That was going to be what she would show to the Gamemakers. And Miri sparred like nobody's business.

She disarmed her trainer like it was nothing-like it had been something that she had done all her life. There _were_ people from outside the wealthiest districts of 1, 2, and 4 who trained for the Games. Outer-district Careers were rare but not unheard-of. Miri was probably one of those.

By the time the fight was over, the girl had barely broken a sweat at all. She still looked like she could climb Denali in one day, and not even need to stop for air. Okay, that was probably a big exaggeration. But Miri seemed to be a natural.

"Let's give her a very high score, like an 11 or 12" Johan told his employees.

"Why?" Ludos asked.

"It's obvious. We don't like outer-district people training to become Careers. I say we give her an 11, to make her a target. Does that sound good?"

All of the other Gamemakers nodded assent to Johan's score idea for Miri. After all, _nobody_ defied the Capitol and got away with it.

But they didn't debate this for long. The biggest juvenile criminal in all of Panem came walking into the room. _Ted Shaw._ Until recently, the Peacekeepers had not known who he really was, always calling him "Black Shade". Now that he'd been caught and unmasked, he'd been sent off to the Hunger Games as punishment for his crimes. And he was barely eligible-in fact, according to his bio, his nineteenth birthday was on the day the Games were going to begin.

Ted went over to the weapons rack and selected some knives. He threw them at the target, and most of them hit one by one. Of course, the Gamemakers had seen this a million times before, but they still had to watch into the early evening. That was just how it went, and Johan couldn't just complain to President Snow. He was the one responsible for this whole mess of a system. Not that Johan Bainbridge hated the Games. In fact, he _loved_ them. But he just hated all the work that went into being the Head Gamemaker.

When Ted was done, he unceremoniously walked out the door. The Gamemakers then continued conversing on what score Ted should be given.

"I think that performance merits a 6 or a 7" said one of the Gamemakers, a young woman named Mallory.

'Mallory, do you know who that is? That's _Ted Shaw._ He's _the most wanted juvenile criminal in all of Panem._ We can't give him a 7". That was Ludos talking.

"Well, what score should he get then?" Mallory shot back.

"Settle down, guys" Bainbridge said. "I know what score we should give Ted. I think it's perfect".

They did settle down. Bainbridge wrote the number on a spare piece of paper and handed it around in a circle. They all approved, so he crumpled up the paper and threw it into the waste basket.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in" said Johan.

An eighteen-year-old girl walked in. Judging by the list, this must have been Aurora Baylor, the girl from District 9.

"Today, I will be showing off my skills with traps and throwing knives".

"Hold on" the Head Gamemaker said. "We're on a schedule here. Please select one talent to demonstrate".

Aurora had to make a tough decision, but she ultimately decided on showing off her traps. She used ropes to weave a net, and then she showed how she could use that to her advantage to catch unsuspecting tributes, whom she could then kill with her knives. _Impressive,_ the Head Gamemaker thought.

Aurora, once she was dismissed, strode out with her head held high, confident that she had earned at least a seven.

 _Just three more districts. Just six more tributes. Just ninety more minutes._

Johan Bainbridge held onto this thought with all of his strength.

* * *

Finally, they had reached the last quarter of tributes.

Bryson Holstein of District 10 was the next person to go in front of the Gamemakers. He selected a machete and asked the Gamemakers for an unusual request.

"Can I have some meat here, please? Like, a _full cow?"_ Bryson said, in a fairly goofy tone of voice, which was not an obscene request in District 10.

"No, Bryson" said Johan. "Just improvise".

"Fine" Bryson said. "I'll just demonstrate my skills with knives".

He went over to the weapons rack and picked up a handful of throwing knives. He reached back and let one fly. It missed the target.

Bryson tried again. It hit the edge of the target. But the next one missed again. Cursing, Bryson went to retrieve the knives he had thrown. But just when he was about to throw some more, the Head Gamemaker interrupted him.

"I think we've seen enough" he said. The others nodded and told Bryson to leave.

"Okay" Bryson said. "But first, do you want to hear a joke?"

 _No. No way in hell._

"My grandfather was a knight, you know" he said.

"What does that have to do with what's going on right now? And do you realize that there are no knights in Panem?" Too late, Bainbridge realized that Bryson was telling a joke, since no one had told him not to.

"His name was Sir Loin".

 _That joke was cringe-worthy,_ Bainbridge thought.

But he didn't say anything. He just reiterated that Bryson had to leave or they would bring in security to get him out of there. So he left.

"I don't know whether to give him a three or a twelve" Bainbridge admitted. "No way we can give him a score in the middle".

"How about a 2? That'll embarrass him in front of the districts" said an elderly Gamemaker, a man named Octavian. Everyone else seemed to agree as well. So a 2 it was.

Now, there were only five left.

Cam walked in and grabbed a sickle. She was not terribly skilled with it, though-it was clear that she'd hardly ever handled the weapon before, or, indeed, any weapon at all. She just hacked away at a dummy. Slowly. Very slowly.

After five minutes of this, it was clear that Cam was not going to do anything more than just keep digging into that dummy. So they kindly asked her to leave.

"I think we should give her a 2" Ludos said.

"That's generous" another Gamemaker said.

"We'll see later!" their boss boomed. "It's time for District 11, so _shut your mouths!_ "

All the Gamemakers quieted themselves. Johan's blue eyes stared at them through his spectacles, so they really had no choice.

Besides, it was time for Wheat to show them what he could do.

Wheat went over to the edible plants station and showed them that he had a decent understanding of what plants could and could not be eaten safely by humans. The Gamemakers were yawning by this point. Wheat had done barely anything at all, and they had been forced to sit through fifteen minutes of that.

It looked like Wheat was going to get a mediocre score at best, a 4 or a 5. Bainbridge hadn't decided which one yet, but he would need to soon. The training sessions would only last forty-five more minutes. _Thank God..._

And then Em walked in.

All Em did was just stand there. And she stood there.

She was very nervous about her session, and she didn't want to totally embarrass herself with her skills. But would she embarrass herself more by not doing anything or by doing something?

Eventually, she decided to go over to the edible plants station. She didn't do as well as Wheat, mainly because she didn't spend quite as much time in the orchards as her district partner. But she still got some of them right. _Maybe,_ just maybe, she didn't deserve a 1.

But that was not what mattered. They were down to the last district. District 12.

Ash Cole walked in. He said, "I'm going to try to demonstrate my skills with weights".

Ash picked up weights and showed that he could easily lift fifty pounds without straining himself. And then a hundred. Working in the coal mines of District 12 had made him strong, the Gamemakers would give him that much. It was impressive. But that wasn't really going to help him in the arena that much, because the arena Johan had created was not going to feature too many weights for lifting.

After Ash was done with lifting his weights (more specifically, after the Gamemakers had made it clear that they had had enough of it), they dismissed him. Ash walked out, hoping that he had gotten an eight or maybe even a nine. But he didn't think he could be that lucky. Life hadn't exactly been handed to him on a silver platter.

And finally, _finally,_ the last tribute walked in.

She introduced herself as Madi Quarry. And then, she stood in the middle of the room, waiting. Waiting for the Gamemakers to ask her the question.

"What skills will you show off today, Miss Quarry?" the Head Gamemaker asked the District 12 girl.

"I will use a knife to kill some dummies" she said. "But, full disclaimer here: I may not be that great".

The now-very-drunk Gamemakers began cracking up at that. But Madi didn't really care.

In fact, that _infuriated_ her. Madi was not happy with the fact that the Gamemakers weren't watching her. That was their job, and they weren't even doing it. Hopefully, her father could get President Snow to see to that. But she knew it wouldn't happen. And besides, right _now_ was what mattered.

Madi wasn't great with the knife. Her kills weren't quick and clean; they left the dummy's stuffing all over the place, and someone would have to clean it up. The Gamemakers were probably far too drunk to do it.

Once Madi was done, and right after she was dismissed, she took it upon herself to clean up the mess she had made. Maybe, just maybe, the Gamemakers would take pity on her for that.

* * *

An hour later, at 8:00 prime time, it was time for the scores to be revealed. All of Panem was waiting for this, because it was all they ever heard about the training sessions. Even victors returning home weren't allowed to speak of them. This was the first hint anyone on the outside would get about just how their tributes were doing.

The Capitol and the districts alike watched with bated breath as Caesar Flickerman came on the screen. On the screen flashed a picture of a very arrogant-looking boy. He was tall and athletic with spiky blonde hair. He was Horatio Jewel, the Career boy from District 1.

 **District 1**

Horatio was on the edge of his seat, looking forward to seeing what his score was. Normally, Careers scored a nine or a ten. Horatio really wanted a 10, but 11 or 12 would make him too much of a target. And, usually, when a tribute received a score that high, that was why. The Gamemakers, for one reason or another, wanted a target on that person's back.

"Horatio Jewel, with a score of 9!"

Horatio grumbled. If only he'd been a little more aggressive. That could mean the difference between victory and grim defeat when the inevitable point when the Careers would be forced to turn on each other. Those who had gotten 10s would likely receive more sponsors before those with 9s or lower scores.

Speaking of lower scores...

"Elegance Elysia...coming away with a score of 6".

The people in the room, Elegance included, gasped. After fainting in the training room at the sight of her own blood, she'd only been in the medical room for as long as they needed to make sure she was okay. But it was quite embarrassing, and worse than that, she had only scored a six. There was no way that the other Career tributes would allow her into their alliance now.

Horatio seemed to know exactly what was on her mind.

"How did you only get a _six?_ What did you do, pass out or something?"

Elegance didn't see the point in lying; after all, she was fucked anyway. "Yes" she said.

"Well", Horatio said, "I don't think we should let you be in our Career alliance anymore. Too bad".

Elegance hated that, but she understood where her district partner was coming from. Squeamishness was a major liability in these Games, since there was literally no bloodier competition on national television _than_ the Hunger Games.

"I understand" she said.

 **District 2**

"Hades Blackett, with a score of...11!"

Hades sprang out of his seat as if he was on a trampoline. He'd been expecting a great score, but not one like this. After all, wasn't eleven observed for...

"Targets" Margaret said. "They've marked you as a target. Why do you think that is, Hades?"

"I dunno" he said. Hades was just glad that he'd gotten such an uncommonly high score.

"I'm not quite sure" Margaret admitted. "But I _strongly suspect_ it's because you wounded that trainer. They want to punish you for that. But you're a Career. It probably won't be until...you know what, when that matters".

Margaret had avoided saying, _when we have to turn on each other._ But it was implicit in her tone, and it was common knowledge that no alliance, not even a solid Career alliance, could last forever in a brutally bloody death competition with only one survivor.

But that didn't matter too much. It was time for Margaret to hear her own score.

"Margaret Malachi, a score of 10!"

Margaret beamed. It wasn't quite as high as Hades had scored, but it was obvious that they hadn't given him for his prowess, but rather because he'd pissed off the Gamemakers. Really, it was as high as anyone could reasonably _want_ to get.

As the Avoxes brought in their dinner, that only made Margaret and Hades happier. They'd gotten the highest scores yet. And poor Elegance had only gotten a six. There was no way that Hades and Horatio would let her remain in the alliance.

But Margaret didn't dwell on it for too long. She was a full-fledged Career girl.

 **District 3**

"Leo Nale...scoring a 6!"

"Aww, come _on!_ Couldn't Uncle Leo get something a little better than that?!" Leo semi-shouted.

"A six is pretty good, Leo" his mentor, Beetee, said. "That's better than most District 3 boys get. They're usually pretty bad at these Games. After all, what did you do?"

"Build a fire" Leo said glumly, but still in a voice that sounded like the world owed him everything.

"Yeah" Beetee said. "That's not going to get you a ten. You might be _extremely_ proficient at fire making, but if you can't show them something that might actually come in more useful for killing tributes, they're not going to give you as much credit as you might deserve. They can only judge you based on what you show them. Now come on. It's time for Siliconia's score".

"Oh, Siliconia Bradley. Our youngest tribute this year, coming away with a score of...1".

Leo suddenly seemed to forget about his disappointment. It was quite rare for anyone to get a score as low as a one, and he wondered how on earth his district partner could have done so badly. He was giggling uncontrollably at this.

"I should have sang better!" Siliconia whined.

"You _sang,_ instead of actually doing something that might help you in the Hunger Games?" Wiress, the other mentor, asked her angrily. "You realize that that'll only alert people to your presence".

"Come on. I just sang, 'The Sweet Escape' by Gwen Stefani and 'Want U Back' by Cher Lloyd. I figured that the Careers might let me live if I showed them some good pop music skills".

"Well, you're dead fucking wrong" Leo said.

"Leo!" Beetee whispered loudly.

 **District 4**

"Eli Trout, with a score of 10!"

"Awesome" Eli said. Realistically, he couldn't have expected a perfect twelve, even if he'd done something cosmically amazing. But he was happy with a ten. People would be falling over themselves going to sponsor boy genius Eli Trout. And that would probably be largely because they didn't want Eli to die. Because of all of his inventions that he kept on creating to help District 4 with their industry, fishing.

They then sat down and waited for Anna's score.

"Anna Hardy, with a score of 10!"

"Other than District 2, you guys have the best combined score" said their mentor, an aging woman named Mags. "I could see you guys going very far in the Games. Maybe we can get District 4 to have a winner this year!"

Anna smiled. She'd gotten a perfect ten. Now, it was time to have another delicious Capitol meal. After all, it could be their third-to-last dinner. There were no guarantees, even when you were a Career tribute.

 **District 5**

Ira had scored a three. He wasn't happy, not at all. He'd nicked the target a few times, but he had still completely and totally failed.

"Don't worry too much" said their mentor. "For all we know, you could have been holding off, trying to make others not pay any attention to you. People have _won_ using that strategy, Ira".

"I wasn't, though" Ira said. "I guess I just suck".

Savanna was up next. _I_ really _hope I'm better than Ira. I have to help my family. Get off the streets, pay my dad's medical bills..._

"Savanna Charlton, with a score of 3".

Savanna was heartsick. She hadn't done any better than her abysmal district partner. No better at all. And it was all because she'd let her nerves get the better of her. She could not let that happen in the actual Games.

The mentors both looked embarrassed. Ira and Savanna, with the lowest combined training scores yet, were making them look bad. They'd be the laughingstocks of the Capitol this year, unless someone else did even worse. And there were worse scores than a three.

 **District 6**

"Apollo Gunner...with a score of 7!"

Apollo was pleased with his score, better than those in District 6 usually got. He was a tiny bit worried it might make him a target, but he didn't think it would ultimately be very consequential at all.

"What did you do?" Vixen asked him.

"I'm not going to tell you my secrets!" Apollo said in a good-natured way, but Vixen could tell that he was angry at her for even suggesting that. This Apollo guy had something to hide.

"Hannah Ford, with a score of 7!"

Both of the tributes of District 6 had acquired sevens. Vixen's score was neither unexpected nor unwelcomed. After all, she'd kicked some serious ass on that obstacle course in the training room.

"Congratulations, guys" the mentor said. "You have done well".

The escort said, "Maybe I might get promoted to an even better district next year. We just might have a District 6 victor this year!"

And Apollo and Vixen couldn't help agreeing with her.

 **District 7**

Conker didn't expect a good score. That way, he wasn't disappointed.

He'd spent the entire session just puking in front of the Gamemakers, not showing off any of his real skills. Why had he expected that he would get anything other than a 1? Oh, wait. He _hadn't_. It was still quite humiliating, even though he was an alcoholic.

The mentors and escort both seemed very shocked at just how badly he had done, but they didn't dwell on it for too long. It was time for Isabella's score to be revealed.

"Isabella York, with a score of 6!"

 _I'll take it,_ she thought. Getting too high a score would put a target on your back for sure, but a six would be a nice balance between being having a bull's-eye on your back and having a ghost of a chance at getting sponsored.

 _Knot-tying was the right choice._

 **District 8**

"Vair Armani...coming away with a score of 2".

"Well, at least I blended in right in" Vair said. He let out a laugh, but it wasn't a happy one. It _had_ been his goal to get a relatively unimpressive score. But he hadn't expected anything _this_ bad.

Vair didn't even have the time to feel bad for himself, because it was time for Miri's score to be revealed.

"Miri Ellara...scoring an 8!"

Miri jumped for joy. Vair looked at her with a worried expression.

"Well, Miri", he said, "you _do_ realize that you scored better than Elegance. This could be very bad for you. The Careers will probably want to target you for that. Being open about training was a big mistake".

The escorts blanched a bit at this, but the Avoxes did not call for the Peacekeepers. After all, tributes were not to be physically harmed. They had to be kept in perfect condition for the upcoming Games. And that wouldn't happen if she was beaten to a pulp.

Still, though, Miri couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen with regards to the Careers.

 **District 9**

"Ted Shaw, with a score of 12!"

"What the flying fuck?" Ted all but shouted. "I mean, I'm good, but I'm not _that_ good. I can't even read, for crying out loud!"

The escort told Ted to stop swearing.

"Wow, Ted, you must have _really_ pissed off the Gamemakers somehow, huh?" Aurora asked him.

Ted thought he knew why he'd been given a perfect twelve, the highest score anyone could ever be given. He was the most wanted soon-to-be-19-year-old criminal in all of Panem, so _of course_ they'd want to mark him as a target. It only made sense.

But Ted wasn't worried about this at all. He was an excellent fighter. He'd had to be, in order to survive on the streets in the toughest parts of 9.

"Aurora Baylor, with a score of 7!"

Aurora smiled to herself. She'd gotten a higher score then she had predicted for herself. Her ability to weave nets lickety-split would certainly work to her advantage in the arena, and in her attempts to catch and kill unsuspecting tributes. Surely that strategy had some merit, and would attract some sponsor who would see that she wasn't just some archetypical District 9 Bloodbath tribute. She was Aurora Baylor, a powerful, strong, smart girl from the Wheatlands who still wanted to be a biological engineer.

 **District 10**

"Bryson Holstein, earning himself a score of 3!"

"Awesome" Bryson said, laughing.

"But", Cam said, "aren't you disappointed that you got such a low score?" By now, Cam was used to Bryson's constant joking, so she didn't know if he was telling the truth or not.

"Nope. The others'll just write me off, but the sponsors won't. Hopefully, they'll think that I'm doing this on purpose, to fly under the radar. People do that".

 _Sure._ Cam thought. _They get embarrassing scores just to get tons of sponsors. It totally makes sense._

But it was now time for her own score.

"Camille Whey, with a score of 2".

The mentor, a woman named Bell, turned red in the face. Of course, it wasn't surprising. District 10 had gotten the worst combined score so far. An average of 2.5 was pretty bad.

 _No chance,_ Cam thought. _I have absolutely no chance of winning these Games._

 **District 11**

Wheat was waiting anxiously to find out what score he had obtained. He could only hope that it would be better than that jester, Bryson, from District 10.

"Wheat Corky, scoring a 4!"

Wheat wasn't too pleased with such a mediocre score. But he could live with it. Just not for long, since the Hunger Games were coming up in just a couple days. The Careers were unlikely to make him their primary target.

"Ember Hayfields, scoring a 2!"

Em's chocolate-colored face reddened a bit. It was pretty embarrassing to get a score that low. At least it wasn't a one, like the girl from District 3 and the guy from District 7 had gotten. Things could be worse for Em.

But Wheat was really only worried about himself. After all, if he was going to survive the next few weeks, he would need to avoid making too many emotional connections. It was just too hard to cut those people down.

 **District 12**

Ash was expecting a fairly average score. He did better than he expected. Much better.

"Ash, you got an 8!" Madi exclaimed.

Sure enough, Ash's own face was on the screen, with a massive number eight below him, showing what score he had gotten.

"I guess my weightlifting skills must really have impressed the Gamemakers" Ash said.

"No kidding".

The final training score of the evening came up:

"Madison Quarry, with a score of 5".

It wasn't as low as she had expected to get. That was a relief. She still didn't think anyone would really want to sponsor Madi Quarry, the richest girl in District 12, who was disliked by nearly everyone outside of her family. Of course, it wasn't like there were that many sponsors in District 12.

* * *

That concluded the score announcements for the Sixty-Third Hunger Games.

Caesar Flickerman ended with, "Let's make these the best Hunger Games ever! You'll love the arena! Stay tuned!"

 _We will, Flickerman. We will._

* * *

 **That is, by a significant margin, not only the longest chapter of** _ **Labyrinth**_ **thus far (over 80% longer than the previous record holder), but also the longest chapter in any of my stories. I hope you enjoyed your tribute's segment in this chapter. If I didn't cover everyone in the last chapter, now I know** _ **for sure.**_

 **I strongly encourage you to review. Earlier today, I got a review from guest, "JTDaBomb". It was a very positive review, and it warmed my heart. But the problem with guest reviewers is that I can't PM you to thank you for reviewing. So keep that in mind if you're a guest who intends to review my story.**

 **I'm not yet sure if the interviews will be one chapter or two. Depends how taxing school is on my writing time.**

 **Also, before I leave, here are the current results of the favorite character poll, after I voted for five of my favorites. Current as of 8:10 PM EST on August 20, 2016:**

 **Alone in first place: Elegance**

 **Tied for second place: Aurora, Isabella, Margaret, Savanna, and Vixen**

 **Tied for seventh place: Apollo, Bryson, Horatio, Leo, Madi, and Miri**

 **The other twelve have yet to get on the board.**

 **All right. It's time to visit with my parents, sister, and grandmother. SnowLucario out.**


	13. Leotards

**I LOVE this chapter title. It's so amazing! If you review, please tell me why it's so awesome. Thanks.**

 **We'll see who does a good job in their interviews and who doesn't, all the while relishing the ever-decreasing size of the bar on the right-hand side of the screen.**

 **It's time, guys. The tribute interviews for the 63rd Hunger Games! I know I've said this before, but this is an AU. When (probably not** _ **if,**_ **because I am enjoying this), I reach the 65th Hunger Games, it will not feature Finnick. Sorry, girls, I know how much you love him.**

* * *

It was now 8:00 PM in the Capitol. Of course, in the westernmost district, 7, it was only six, but it was ten in the evening in most of 6, 8, some of 11, and 12. That was how time zones worked, but that was probably unnecessary to say.

It had come time for the tribute interviews. This was an important ritual, because how the tributes presented themselves in this interview could affect everything. Not only would it affect sponsors, but Gamemakers could be less likely to kill a tribute they liked. Of course, the Gamemakers directly killing a tribute was rare. Usually, they manipulated the arena to get the tributes to confront each other face-to-face, just like the gladiators in ancient Rome. Their host, Caesar Flickerman, was in his thirtieth year of doing this. Despite this, he looked much younger than he was in his surgically altered face and blue wig. He was ready to interview the tributes.

Thirty yards away was a bench containing a line of tributes. Those on the right would have their turn with Caesar first, while those on their far left would have to wait the longest. However, unlike the private sessions with the Gamemakers, these interviews were only three minutes apiece. It went by ascending districts in numerical order, girl-boy-girl-boy, until, theoretically, 9:12 PM. But, of course, it didn't really work that way. All said and done, it was probably more like 9:20 before the tributes would go back and get into their beds. For some of them, it would be their last little sleep before the big sleep.

"Laddiiees and gentlemen!" Caesar called out. "It's time for the Sixty-Third Annual Tribute Interviews! First up, Elegance Elysia of District 1!"

Elegance stood up and sat down next to Caesar. Tonight, she was wearing a flowing dress, much like the one she'd worn for the chariot rides, except this one was gold instead of purple. A holographic three-minute timer appeared above their heads and began counting down.

"So, Elegance", Caesar began, "let's talk about your training score. A six. Are you disappointed?"

"Very" Elegance said. "It's looking like the other Careers won't have my back after all. But don't count me out just yet".

"Oh, no, we're definitely not, Miss Elysia. I'm sure that your personality will endear you. You seem like a very fine young lady".

"Yes" Elegance said.

She wished that she could have told Caesar about how much she regretted volunteering, and fainting at the sight of her own blood. But that would only make her situation even worse with regards to sponsorship.

"My sister, Olivia...she died in the Games a few years back" Elegance said after a long silence.

"Oh, how sad" Caesar said. "I remember Olivia. She was a very nice young lady, just like you".

 _And just like her, I'm going to die in the arena._

"Look at it this way, Elegance" Caesar said, trying to be reassuring. "If you win, you get a lot of good things. A mansion in the Victor's Village, ten million dollars a year for the rest of your life, and a lot, lot more. If you lose, though, you'll get to see your sister again".

Elegance thought that this was a very insensitive thing for him to say. Not everyone believed in an afterlife. She knew, though, that Caesar Flickerman had most likely not been intending to offend her. She was still puzzling over this when the buzzer rang out, signaling the end of her interview and the beginning of the next one.

Horatio was dressed in a purple toga. The District 1 tributes had essentially switched color schemes from the chariot ride. He looked smug as usual, ready to own the interview.

"Good evening, Mr. Jewel" Caesar said.

"Good evening, Mr. Flickerman" Horatio said back.

They both laughed a little at this, taking up probably a good thirty seconds. Finally, they both made an unspoken agreement to call each other by their first names from here on out.

"So, Horatio, you got a nine in training. How does that feel, to know that you got an excellent score?"

"To be honest, I thought, with how awesome I am, you'd have given me at _least_ an eleven. But in the arena, you'll wish you had given me a twelve".

The audience cracked up. The Capitol was clearly enjoying this guy. Of course, Horatio was an arrogant fool, but that was just what they loved so much about him. He was entertaining, a great character. These types of people tended to become fan favorites quickly. And this year, it was District 1's Horatio Jewel.

"I know that it's just average for a Career. But tell me, what do you think your chances of winning the Games are?" Caesar asked. Even if you were a Career, that really only boosted your chances to a certain degree. There were usually about five Career tributes, and you'd have to defeat the other four.

But these simple facts didn't faze Horatio. "Two hundred percent" he said.

"Meaning?"

"I'm gonna win twice in a row. I'll kick all of these tributes's behinds. I expect that you'll be experiencing deja vu very shortly. Because in a week or two, I'll be sitting in front of you again, with the victor's crown right on top of my head".

The audience cheered at Horatio's overconfidence, most of them secretly hoping that it would come back to bite him. But then the buzzer rang out.

"That's it for District 1, folks! It's time for our next tribute...Margaret Malachi of District 2!"

Margaret walked onto the stage. Since her last name was the same as the last book of the Old Testament, she had requested a traditional Hebrew outfit for the interview. The stylists had delivered on that request. She looked great, Caesar Flickerman thought.

"So, Margaret, let's talk about your family a bit. Do you think they're watching right now?"

It has to be said that this question irritated Margaret. After all, the interviews were required viewing for everyone in Panem. Of _course_ they were watching.

But Margaret was careful not to let her irritation show as she said, "Yes. And I think they're proud of me".

"Great" said Caesar.

"And as for my family themselves...they're great. My parents have both been helping me train for the Games since I was nine years old. Thanks to them, I'm feeling good about my odds of winning the Games. Mom, Dad, if you can hear me, and I know you can, _thank you_ ".

"I'm glad that you're so happy about your family. And your training score is also something to be proud of. A 10".

"I know" Margaret said. Really, what else was there to say?

 _Bzzzzzzt!_

"That was the buzzer. Sorry, guys, we're on a tight schedule. Let's bring in Hades Blackett!"

The crowd cheered as Hades walked to the sear next to Caesar. He was wearing the same outfit he'd been in during the chariot rides, a burgundy toga, minus the golden scepter.

"Hades, I must ask you...how did you manage to score an 11 in training?"

"It's a secret" Hades hissed in a dangerous voice.

"I just wanted to point out that that's an uncommonly high score, even for a District 2 Career such as yourself. Are you sure that you're not worried about that putting a target on your back?"

"I'm not worried" Hades said. "I think they'll need me for a while. And, once it's time to turn on each other, I am confident that I can come out on top".

"So many people say that. There's at least one every year who's absolutely _positive_ they can win. And yet, they fail. A lot of the time, they die in the Games. Why are you any different?"

"Look" Hades said in a cocky but angry tone, "Most of those tributes got a ten. I got an _eleven._ Because I'm not _most Careers._ I'm _Hades Blackett_!" The crowd roared at this player who clearly did not believe he was average. It was, once again, hard to decide who was more arrogant: Hades or Horatio. And their names both started with H.

The buzzer went off shortly afterwards, and Hades left the stage. It was now time for the next tribute.

"So, Siliconia, you're obviously the youngest tribute we have in the Games this year. How do you think that affects your chances?"

"It definitely makes me an underdog" she said. "But I still can see myself winning this thing. If nobody twelve years old has won the Games before, then I'll just be the first. And you can't count me out yet".

"I understand. But, Siliconia, a lot of people _do_ seem to be counting you out. What about your one in training?"

"Look, Caesar, I love to sing. Would you like a demonstration?"

Caesar beamed. "Of course, Siliconia. _Now_ is the time to sing, not when you're in front of the Gamemakers. Hit it".

Siliconia stood up and sang:

The audience cooed at this little District 3 girl singing so beautifully. In the very unlikely event that Siliconia managed to pull this thing off, she'd be the victor known for being a pop singer.

But Siliconia wasn't done yet.

She finished that last line of "Wings" just as the buzzer rang out. They'd remember her, for sure, even if she didn't win.

It was now time for the boy from District 3. Leo Nale was fidgeting more than ever. At least he wasn't wearing a trashy robot costume this time. Instead, both he and Siliconia were wearing leotards with images of gears emblazoned on them. He still wasn't a fan of this outfit, but what could he do?

"So, Leo. According to your bio, you're a boy mechanic with severe ADHD. That's weird-I didn't really think those fit together that well".

"What do you mean? Leo asked Caesar.

"I mean, even as we speak, you're fidgeting a lot. You seem as though you've had too much coffee. I'd just think that it might make it a bit difficult to handle the tools in the workshop".

"Surprisingly, Uncle Leo doesn't really have those problems. I'm very good with my hands". _And I can build fire like nobody's business, he thought._

"All right, Leo, it's time to get down to business. You got a score of 6. How do you think you'll do in the Hunger Games?"

Leo didn't hesitate. He said, "Uncle Leo is going to bag it for his district. And he'll make you guys proud, too. Let's bring it on, guys!"

The crowd yelled, congratulating him on being such a character. Then, the buzzer sounded, and Leo went to sit next to Siliconia.

* * *

They were a quarter of the way through the interviews. Six down, eighteen to go.

Anna Hardy was wearing a navy blue dress as she went to sit down in the chair across from Caesar. She looked as though she'd just gotten selected to go for the prom the next day, instead of being about to participate in a brutal killing competition.

"So, Anna, you scored a ten. Congratulations".

"I know" Anna said. "After all, I'm a Career. I've trained for this for years". She wasn't going to mention Finn. Not when he was watching. She didn't need the Capitol knowing about her abusive father. That would make her look more vulnerable. And the sponsors didn't like vulnerability.

"So how is your family back at home?" Caesar asked her.

"Well..." Anna said.

"I'm waiting".

"I don't really want to talk about that. It's not a happy subject for me. My father and I are...not on the best of terms".

Caesar grimaced. "Oh, what a tragedy. So, if you win, Anna, what will you do with your money?"

Anna said, "Well, that's easy, Caesar. I'll buy a boat! After all, that's a pretty good thing to have in District 4".

"Agreed" Caesar said. "I'm glad that we have at least one tribute who has a plan for her winnings".

Anna laughed at this, despite how she felt. Then, the buzzer sounded. It was time for Eli Trout to take the stage.

Eli was wearing the same type of teal tuxedo that he'd been sporting on the night of the chariot rides. He looked nervous and deep in thought but excited, as though he was calculating the odds of everyone else winning in his head and deciding that they were in his favor.

"So, Eli", Caesar began, "it says here in your bio that you have a genius-level IQ. It's 176, which is absolutely astonishing. It also says that you're an inventor".

"That's right" Eli said. "And the people in my district were not happy when I volunteered".

"Why not?" Caesar asked, as if he was surprised that kid genius Eli Trout's decision to enter the Hunger Games was so unpopular.

"It's obvious, isn't it, Caesar?" Eli said. "They love my inventions. They didn't want my skills taken away from them. But I feel that I have at least an 89% chance of winning these Games. And if I do, they won't just see Eli Trout as a great inventor. They'll see me as a _victor"_.

"Oooh, a guy who doesn't like the label society has given him?"

"That's right" Eli said. "And if those people only see me as an inventor, and that's all I could ever be, then that's their problem. But I think I'm going to win. After all, I _did_ receive a ten in training".

The audience applauded at Eli. And that was when the buzzer went off. District 4 was over. They were now a third of the way through the interviews.

District 5 was up next. Savanna Charlton. She was wearing a neon yellow leotard, just like District 3 had been. She sat down in the armchair across from Caesar, and then he started asking her questions.

"So, Savanna, it doesn't seem as though life has been easy for you, has it?"

"No, Caesar, it hasn't been easy. I live on the streets".

This earned some murmurs of sympathy from the audience, but pity, in general, did not get you sponsors.

"That kind of sucks, doesn't it, Savanna? But look on the bright side. If you win, you're not going to live on the streets anymore".

"True" Savanna said. "But that's not the only problem. Last week, three days before the reaping, my father was brutally injured in a street fight. As far as I know, he's still in critical condition".

"That's too bad, Savanna. But good luck in the Games".

"Thanks, Caesar. One thing is for sure: I'll need it. There are a lot of people here who are so much bigger and stronger than me that I don't know if I have a chance. But you definitely cannot count me out just yet".

"We never count _anyone_ out, Savanna" Caesar said reassuringly.

"Good" Savanna said.

Just then, the buzzer came, and Savanna's turn in the spotlight was over for now. It was now time for Ira to take the stage.

"Good evening, Ira. How's it going?"

"As well as could be expected for someone who has a decent chance of losing their life tomorrow" Ira said.

"Don't say that" Caesar said. "You may have only scored a 3, but you're still okay with a spear. And people do use that strategy to win the Games".

"I know" Ira said.

"Is that what you're doing, Ira?" Caesar asked, as if he was accusing Ira of stealing cookies.

"Why should I tell you?" Ira snapped. "Isn't that the whole point of anyone using that strategy?"

"True, true" Caesar said.

"I'll tell you what, Caesar" Ira said. "I'm not going to lose hope, not for a minute. And if I win, I'll make sure to invite you out to the fanciest restaurant in District 5!"

Caesar chuckled. "It's a deal".

Just then, the buzzer went off yet again.

"It's time for Hannah Ford, District 6!" Caesar exclaimed.

"Actually, please don't call me that" Vixen said. "I very much prefer to go by Vixen".

"Well, Vixen, then. Tell me: Are you proud that you got a 7 in training? That's better than most tributes from your district get. And, you never know. Someone just might sponsor you at a critical time".

"I'm glad I got a seven" Vixen said. "I wasn't surprised, because I _am_ quite a fast runner. I kind of have to be, on the streets. I'm also a street kid, like Savanna. But I have no parents, they both died when I was younger".

"I'm sorry to hear that" Caesar said. "You have my deepest condolences".

"Thanks" Vixen said. "But they died three years ago. I'm mostly over it now. But, in a way, you _never_ get over a loved one's death".

"I understand" Caesar said. As the gong rang out, he said, "Let's give it up for...VIXEN FORD, OF DISTRICT 6!"

The audience applauded as Apollo Gunner took the stage.

"So, Apollo, you seem like a pretty adept tribute. A score of 7, just like your district partner, Vixen. You're also tall and thin, and that correlates positively with speed, as we've seen in past years. So, tell me: Do you think you have a shot at winning these Games?"

"A shot, yes. A _good_ shot, no. After all, District 6 doesn't usually do very well in the Games. But it would be awesome to win. My family's not as poor as Savanna's or Vixen's, but we could still use the money pretty badly. And I'll stop at nothing to win".

"That's what we like to hear!" Caesar lauded. "This guy is a _contender!_ "

"I know" Apollo said. "After all, my last name is _Gunner_!"

"Nice pun there, Apollo. How are you enjoying your time in the Capitol?"

"It's been great. I love the ap-"

Unfortunately, before Apollo could say exactly what he loved about the Capitol, **(probably ends in "-el")** , the buzzer rang out, and Apollo was forced to abdicate his seat in favor of Isabella of District 7.

* * *

 **I was going to have this all be one chapter, but then I decided that it just wasn't worth it. I wanted to see some more reviews than I have been getting. Barely anyone reviewed the last chapter, even though it was by far the longest. I strongly urge you guys to review, because it really feels good to get constructive criticism.**

 **Also, favorite character poll results as of 6:57 PM:**

 **Alone in 1st: Elegance with 5 votes**

 **Tied for 2nd: Apollo, Isabella, Savanna, Vair, and Vixen with 3 votes each**

 **Tied for 7th: Aurora, Cam, Margaret, Miri, and Siliconia with 2 votes each**

 **Tied for 12th: Anna, Ash, Bryson, Eli, Em, Horatio, Leo, Madi, and Ted with 1 vote each**

 **Tied for 21st: Conker, Hades, Ira, and Wheat, who have yet to get on the board.**

 **WOW! People really love Elegance! Also, they like the girls far better than the boys, it looks like.**

 **All right. SnowLucario is out.**


	14. Countdown To Destruction

**The chapter title of the last chapter, just in _case_ you didn't realize, is a pun. Leotards. Leo. LEOtards, get it? This chapter's title is a _Super Paper Mario_ reference. Look it up.**

 **Eventually, maybe once we're well and truly into the Games, I'll put up a poll about what you want the 64th arena to be. Current ideas are (and would also be the title of the story):**

 **1\. Lorax**

 **2\. Sea Dogs**

 **3\. Glacial Meltdown**

 **4\. City Of Danger**

 **This chapter will probably be shorter than the last one, because I want to get to the Games.**

 **With that out of the way, enjoy the second half of the interviews, and the last chapter before the Hunger Games themselves begin!**

* * *

Isabella was looking good tonight. She was wearing a forest green leotard for her interview, and she looked as though she was ready for anything.

"So, Isabella, I hear that you're a paramedic internist back in District 7. Tell me, please: Does that help you at all in the Games, do you think?"

"Well, as you can tell, I got a six in training. That's a good score. I am very good with my hands, because I'm used to starting IVs and the like. I'm also used to working under pressure, because of my job. So, I think I have decent odds" Isabella said.

"What's your family probably thinking right now?" Caesar asked Isabella.

"Well", Isabella began, "I think they're probably quite worried about me. After all, I'm going to the _Hunger Games_ tomorrow. They have plenty of reason to be nervous about that".

"I agree" Caesar said. "Particularly as you're not a Career. But you got the same score as Elegance! What do you think of that, Isabella?"

"I think", Isabella said, "that it's more Elegance sucking than me doing well".

The audience laughed, and Elegance narrowed her eyes, as the buzzer rang out.

It was time for Conker to take the stage. But, just like in his training session in front of the Gamemakers, he was too drunk to say much of anything, and he was vomiting the whole time. Caesar tried to ask him questions, but he was throwing up way too much to even really answer them. As soon as Conker threw up in Caesar's face, the Capitol audience was all too eager for Miri to take the stage.

"Let's talk about that training score, Miri" Caesar said. "An eight. People from District 8 don't get scores like that very often. Are you worried that it might make you a target?"

"I'm not worried" Miri said. "I'll probably get plenty of sponsors. And there's usually at least one outer-district tribute with a score between eight and ten. I think I have a good chance". She didn't want to tell Caesar Flickerman that she'd been training for this. Other than Careers, pre-reaping training was a big taboo. "I know that they might want to get to me, and there could be some tensions there, but I should be fine in that regard. I just have to survive the Bloodbath".

"Agreed" Caesar said.

They talked a little more about their respective worlds before the buzzer rang out, and Miri went back to the bench. It was now time for Vair to take the stage.

"So, Vair, you're from District 8. What's your everyday life like?"

"Well", said Vair. "We live in a run-down apartment, and I work long hours at the textile factory. It's tiring, and I still work out a lot".

Caesar then began to talk to Vair about the actual games. He pointed out his utterly embarrassing training score.

"I don't think that'll be a problem" Vair said. "I'm a pretty fast runner. I go on a lot of runs with my little sister, Velvet. I love her more than anything".

The Capitol audience cooed at that before Caesar asked him another question.

"What's your favorite thing about the Capitol?"

The boy didn't have time to answer that question, because the buzzer sounded, and Vair was forced to abdicate his seat for Aurora.

"Aurora", Caesar said. "In your bio, it says that you wanted to be a biological engineer. Tell me more about that".

Aurora was a little hesitant. After all, what she said with regards to this might anger the Capitol. But she decided not to hold that information back.

"I grew up in the rural part of District 9, which we call the Wheatlands. I didn't want to be one of those nameless masses who work long hours in the fields every day. Which I did. But I'll never work in those fields again, even if I win".

"That might not be as big an _if_ as you think" Caesar said. "I think that with a score of seven, you could easily go far, maybe even all the way. This year, we have a lot of promising people from outside of the Career districts".

"I know" Aurora said. "I strongly believe that I can do this. But there's still a chance, however small, that I won't make it home. If that's the case...Mom, Dad, Dax, Sable, Trac...I love you all, and I will do my _very best_ to make it home".

"Great" Caesar said. And then, the buzzer went off. It was time for the most notorious criminal in all of District 9 to take the stage.

"So, Ted..." Caesar began. "You got a twelve in training. A _perfect twelve._ How on _Earth_ do you think you did it?"

"I think it's pretty clear" Ted said. "I'm the most wanted juvenile delinquent in District 9. Of _course_ I would get a 12. They want to make me a target".

"Well, I think that they've succeeded" Caesar said. "Already, the Careers seem to be singling you out".

He was right. Ted looked over at the bench, where the Careers seemed to be looking at him as if he was going to be targeted as a threat. Which he no doubt _was_ going to be. That was, after all, how the Games worked. The big targets were those who had the highest scores in training, especially if that tribute was not a Career.

"Growing up, things were never easy for me. In fact, I can't read or write. It's just how things are when you're an orphan".

Caesar looked as though he was about to ask Ted more about that, but then the buzzer rang out, and he couldn't.

* * *

And then they were in the last six interviews.

"Up next...CAMILLE WHEY!"

"Um...please call me Cam" Cam said.

"Sorry...Cam, then" Caesar said, slightly embarrassed.

"How is it in District 10?" Caesar asked Cam.

"It's all right" Cam said. "But it's tough. My dad's disabled, so he can't work. Due to this, I have to work extra shifts. It really sucks sometimes" Cam said.

"I understand" Caesar said apologetically. "But are you thinking that you have a chance in these Games?"

"I don't know, Caesar. There are certainly a lot of strong competitors here, and I don't know if I can compare. After all, I got a _two_. Has anyone ever won with that low a score?"

"Yes" Caesar said. "It was Clair, District 5. She only got a two, but it turned out that she was just doing it so that she'd be ignored".

Cam seemed a little bit mollified by this, which was good, because the buzzer rang out.

Bryson came up to the stage, wearing his usual goofy expression on his face.

"So, Bryson, I hear you're kind of a goofball" Caesar said.

"Well, I sure do love jokes" Bryson said back.

"What's your favorite one?" Caesar asked him.

Bryson thought about this for a full minute. This was a tough one, made worse by the fact that Caesar and the audience clearly wanted them to get this thing going, since they only had a limited amount of time.

"I guess I like the one about Sir Loin. After all, I'm from District 10. My family owns a ranch".

"I get it" Caesar said. "You like jokes that you can relate to. Agreed?"

"YES!" the audience shouted in unison.

The buzzer rang out, and Bryson stood up out of the armchair, to be replaced by Em Hayfields.

"So, Em, what's your favorite thing about the Capitol?" Caesar asked the thirteen-year-old girl.

"Honestly...the food. They have nothing like this in Eleven" she said.

"Can't argue with that!" Caesar said good-naturedly. "The food here sure is good. Even now I marvel at it, and I'm 64. It's that good!"

"Wait...you're sixty-four?" Em asked quizzically. "You look so young".

"Thank the plastic surgeons, Miss Hayfields. But tell me, what is your favorite food here?"

"I think that it's the reindeer sausage" Em said, licking her lips as if she was just about to dig into some right then and there.

"They also have that in District 7, you know" Caesar pointed out, gesturing to Conker and Isabella.

Just then, however, the buzzer sounded, and Em was forced to leave.

Wheat walked onto the stage.

"So, Wheat", Caesar began. "I know that this must be a stressful time for you. You're just now going off to the Hunger Games, not knowing if you'll be alive this time tomorrow..."

"Well, it's not, Caesar" Wheat said. "I've been working in the orchards since I was a little tyke. Truth be told, I'm having the time of my life here".

"Happy to hear that" Caesar said.

"I know. And, like my district partner said"-he gestured to Em-"the food here is really good. But the reindeer sausage isn't my favorite".

"Well, what is, then, Wheat?" Caesar asked, as though he'd never heard that there was any edible item other than reindeer sausage.

"I love the fruit salad. It's something recognizable, because it's not so unbelievably foreign to District 11".

"I know you're a long shot, Wheat...but I hope to see you go far".

"Thanks, Caesar" Wheat said just as the buzzer sounded.

And then there were only two interviews left. Madi walked onto the stage, looking stressed out.

Madi was not in the mood to talk. Caesar kept trying to get her to, but she just stayed silent.

There was a reason Madi wasn't talking. The previous night, she had dreamed of an underground cavern in which other teenagers were repeatedly trying to kill her. She'd woken up and been relieved for a few seconds before she realized that that was now her reality. But she wasn't going to tell Caesar this. Showing vulnerability did not benefit you in interviews. In fact, it was one of the last things you should do.

When the buzzer sounded, Madi was relieved as Ash took the stage as the final tribute of the evening.

"Well, Ash. Let's talk about that eight you received in training. Are you happy with it?"

"Yeah, I am, Caesar" Ash said. "Eight's pretty good for an outer-district person such as myself. And, even though it might make me a target, it might also get me sponsors. Growing up in 12 was tough, because I work in the mines all day long. But, to be honest, it was kind of a relief to be reaped. Finally, I could get an escape from this hard, repetitive life I had become so accustomed to".

"Sorry to hear that, Ash. Are you enjoying your time in the Capitol?"

"Yes, I am" Ash said. "After all, didn't I just say I was grateful for an escape?"

The crowd laughed, but Ash was deadly serious. He continued on and on about his life story, and Caesar teared up. But then the buzzer rang out.

"All right, guys, that's it for the Sixty-Third annual tribute interviews! I'll see you tomorrow for the beginning of the Games! Until then, I'm your host...Caaeeeesaaar Fliccckkermannn!"

The crowd cheered.

* * *

 **I'M DONE! I'M FINISHED WRITING THE INTERVIEWS!**

 **That was boring and repetitive, just like Ash's life. As I am starting school soon, my writing time will take a hit. And, once it starts biting me in the ass, updates might only be weekly eventually. So please appreciate what you have and review.**

 **The next chapter is the Bloodbath. Better prepare yourselves for it. I'm thinking that next time, I'll just skip the interviews. After all, no one really cares about them. I'll just add a chapter about the victor staying over at the Capitolite's homes.**

 **Sincerely, your annoyed but relieved writer,**

 **SnowLucario.**


	15. The Battle Of The Labyrinth

**All right, guys. It's SnowLucario again. The title of this chapter comes from a Percy Jackson book. You know what I am talking about, I presume.**

 **I want to include a full disclaimer here: You guys didn't submit tributes so they could go to the Capitol, dress in flamboyant costumes, and eat fancy food. This is the HUNGER GAMES, and your character will almost certainly die. If that happens, please don't bring out your pitchforks and hunt me down. You knew what you were getting into. One of my favorite sayings applies** **here** _,_ **"You've made your bed and now you have to lie in it".**

 **I am going to put up a new poll right now for which girl you would like to date. Please take the time to vote, if you will.**

 **It's time to KILL SOME KIDS!**

* * *

The next morning, Isabella couldn't eat anything. She was too nervous. And really, who could blame her? It was the first day of the Hunger Games today, and there was a decent chance that this would be her last meal. _But then, all the more reason to enjoy it now_ , Isabella thought. She grabbed a lemon poppy seed muffin and began to pick at it gingerly.

Conker was having no such problems. He was shoveling food into his mouth like a squirrel preparing to go into hibernation for the winter. Clearly, he was not as nervous as his district partner. But then again, some people ate _more_ when they were nervous. Conker seemed to be one of these people.

She didn't pay that much thought, though. After all, this morning was likely to be the last time she saw Conker, as she didn't plan on forming an alliance with anybody in the arena. _No one_ was your friend, and forming ties in the Hunger Games was like tethering yourself to a tree that might fall off a cliff at any minute. It wasn't a smart decision.

Suddenly, Conker said, "You should eat more. You never know when you'll find food in the arena".

Isabella knew he was right. But her half-finished muffin felt like a weight in her stomach. She didn't think she _could_ eat any more. Besides, it was almost time to board the hovercraft that would take them to the arena. And she didn't want to throw up with mines at her feet, although it would probably happen, if it did happen, before then. Still, though, she didn't want that to occur.

 _I think we can write Conker off right now. I'm carrying the hopes of District 7 firmly on my shoulders._

* * *

Ten minutes later, all of the tributes boarded the hovercraft. Elegance felt as though she might faint again as the tracker was painfully injected into her forearm, which was the same for everyone else. Maybe minus the feeling-faint part. This was presumably so that the Gamemakers would know when someone had died, so they could send in the hovercraft to pick up their body.

They all sat down in their seats, and then the hovercraft took off.

The ride lasted for about half an hour. The entire time, Siliconia was sobbing in her seat. _Poor girl,_ Apollo thought. But he didn't feel any sympathy for her. He didn't care. If he was going to get out of the Bloodbath alive, he _couldn't_ care. That was just the way it was.

Eventually, the windows were blacked out, so that the tributes would not know where they were going. Soon afterwards, the hovercraft began its final descent into an underground hangar. This was the center of an interconnecting system of tunnels that would lead tributes to where they would be raised up on plates into the arena.

Bryson was led to his room by his stylist, who handed him his suitcase.

"Uh...what's this?" he asked.

"We packed your bags for you when you were taken to the Capitol last week. As a twist this year, there is no real tribute _outfit._ Instead, you will choose from your wardrobe which clothes you would like to wear for the duration of your time in the arena".

Bryson looked through his clothing, looking to decide on one outfit. Just one, the stylist told him. These would probably get dirty fast, depending on what the arena was going to be.

He selected a shirt saying, _DON'T MESS WITH DISTRICT 10!,_ a pair of cowboy jeans, a pair of black boxer shorts, and socks. The stylists chose shoes for him. But, then, he was ready to be launched in the arena.

As Bryson stepped onto his plate, he expected to be sent up. After all, that was what usually happened.

Instead, the plate began to descend.

* * *

The tributes were arranged in alphabetical order, like a clock. Anna was at 12:00, Conker was at the three o'clock position, Ira was at six o'clock, and Savanna was at the 9:00 position. But that wasn't what mattered as they took in the sleek black horn known as the Cornucopia.

What mattered, instead, was the area that lay around them. And it made Aurora feel trapped. She could feel the full weight of all the earth above her. Because this arena was, quite literally, in the earth.

The tribute plates descended for twenty seconds before they emerged in a cavern that was larger than a cathedral. The ground and walls were rock the color of peanut butter, with a fine coating of sand covering the whole area. Also, the walls and ground were studded with gems in many different colors. It looked, Horatio thought, as though they could be in a high-end District 1 boutique. He'd been in plenty of those in his life.

All around them, about fifty yards behind each individual tribute's plate, were twelve tunnels arranged in clock formation, but there wasn't one directly in line with Anna. Instead, they were placed equidistant from both each other and two tributes's plates, so that no one was given an unfair advantage right from the get-go.

Finally, high above them, perhaps fifty or sixty feet, was a window out into the blue sky. The actual Hunger Games started at ten in the morning, so that wasn't surprising. Ted figured that they were probably near District 9, based on how long it had taken them to get here.

The whole area was quite pretty, in an eerie sort of way. But Claudius Templesmith's booming voice made all the tributes remember why they were here.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the sixty-third annual Hunger Games begin!"

* * *

Of course, that wasn't _quite_ the beginning of the Hunger Games.

If you stepped off before the sixty seconds were up, the floor was covered in land mines, which would kill you instantly, in a very brutal fashion. As the countdown reached twenty-five seconds, this is what each tribute was thinking.

 **25**

Vair was a fast runner. He knew that he might be the very first one to reach the Cornucopia, a distance of fifty yards away. But by the time he could run back past the plates, others might be converging around the area to attack him. Still, though, he saw a dagger thirty yards away. It looked very inviting. Maybe he could grab it and a backpack, and time it so that most people were still at the Cornucopia.

 **24**

Ted knew he was in trouble. He'd scored a twelve in training, so no question there would be a major target on his back. He had to run. But where to? He just might get cornered in one of the tunnels. Who knew where they might lead? Well, the Gamemakers knew, but they sure as hell weren't going to be telling them those secrets. No, Ted decided, he had to grab the nearest thing and run. That happened to be a small green backpack lying fifteen yards away. Could he reach it before anyone else?

 **23**

Siliconia felt that she was doomed from the start. A twelve-year-old had never won the Games before, so why should it be any different this year? And she'd scored an embarrassingly low 1 in training. No one would dare sponsor her. But she saw Ted, the contract killer, just to her left. She had no doubt that he was very capable of killing a little girl. And she couldn't fight off the _Careers!_ She would have to run.

 **22**

Miri tensed her muscles, ready to sprint as soon as she hit the ground. After all, she had an advantage most of the others didn't; she had been training for years. From what she'd seen of Vair, back in District 8, he was pretty fast. Maybe they had a chance this year. She would go straight for that sword in the center of the Cornucopia. It was hers.

 **21**

Cam wasn't very confident at all, although this environment did kind of remind her of District 10. She didn't know what she could do. Luckily, her district partner was on her right, but she didn't think she could get in an alliance with Bryson so easily. No, the only thing for it was to get far away, as far from the Cornucopia as she could get.

 **20**

Em knew that she couldn't win. She was just too small and weak, and she'd gotten a two in training. She was fucked. Still, though, this was better than being stuck with Julius. And if she won, she'd have to face him again. Even so, she wasn't suicidal. She would do anything she could to win. It just might not be enough. She looked around for a tunnel to escape into. But, to her chagrin, she realized that Hades was on her left, and Eli on her right. Two Careers. If one of them went for her, that would be bad. And then, on the other sides were Horatio and Elegance! She was literally _surrounded_ by Careers!

 **19**

Margaret was set apart from the other Careers, save for Anna. She scanned the Cornucopia for throwing stars, but she didn't find any. Even though she'd gotten a ten in training, the Gamemakers still hadn't put them in the Cornucopia. Bastards. But she could still see a katana near the center. That was what she was shooting for, her best weapon. She tensed her leg muscles, prepared to spring up and run in that direction.

 **18**

Bryson was worried. He felt as though his cowboy shirt was digging into his stomach. He didn't want to throw up his breakfast, especially considering that there were land mines at his feet. He just had to hope that he could get his hands on a machete. But he realized that he wasn't the fastest runner. He needed every second he could to get away before someone went hunting. Yes, that was going to be his plan.

 **17**

Conker was feeling even queasier than Bryson. This wasn't surprising, because he had been drinking too much the night before. And pretty much every night of the last year or two. He was also regretting his large breakfast that day. But he only had to hold it in for seventeen more seconds. Then, he would find a tunnel to run into and try not to black out until he was at least a mile or two away, down some out-of-the-way tunnel. That was his best bet.

 **16**

Elegance had planned to go right into the Cornucopia and grab a mace. But that was before she'd passed out after pricking her finger with it. Before she'd scored a lousy 6 in training. Before Horatio had kicked her out of the Career alliance. Speaking of which, Eli was on her left, and, separated by Em from District 11, Hades and Horatio were there in succession. She decided that she would run to her _right,_ in search of the nearest tunnel to get the fuck out of here.

 **15**

Madi was ready to run in for a large purple backpack located twenty-five yards away. But she had to be careful. Margaret, the Career girl from District 2, was on her left. On her right was Leo from District 3, who wasn't necessarily the most threatening tribute, but could still be careful. And, only four places to her right, was Horatio. Madi knew that she could _not_ let him get ahold of her. She'd be dead in five seconds flat.

 **14**

Eli was nervous. He was going to try to form an alliance with some of the tributes from the outer districts, but he didn't think he could do that now. It was far too late, and he'd probably be betraying the Careers. And he didn't want to do that this early in the Games. No, his best move would be to simply go in and fight with the rest of them. And, since he was no doubt the smartest one here, he could take down all of them that he needed to.

 **13**

Horatio wanted to laugh. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. These Games were his for the taking. He probably shouldn't have been too cocky. After all, this was only the Bloodbath, the beginning. It was pretty rare, but there had been instances of Career tributes from 1 or 2 dying in the Bloodbath. _Who should I kill first?_ He saw Ira on his left and his fellow Career, Hades, on his right. "Who should I kill first?" was an important philosophical question, up there with the existence of God, whether or not there was an afterlife, and "Which seat can I take?" He knew, however, that it wouldn't be Hades. That would come later, but, for now, they were allies.

 **12**

Vixen was even faster than Vair. She had no doubt that she could grab the orange pack that was twenty meters in front of her plate before the others got there. She wasn't too confident in her hand-to-hand combat skills, however. She'd do her best to avoid conflict in these Games. Sometimes, the only winning move was not to play. _What's in that backpack?_ , she wondered.

 **11**

Savanna's family, particularly her father, were counting on her. She had to stay strong. _But what was the right move?_ If she ran in to grab something, she might get slaughtered by a Career. If she ran away from the Cornucopia, she'd be in trouble as well, because she'd have to rely on a rich sponsor. Savanna could probably live off the land okay; after all, she'd lived on the streets for years. But she didn't know how an underground maze did in terms of being a good place to feed yourself off of the land.

 **10**

Leo was feeling unusually shaky today, which wasn't surprising due to his severe ADHD. Still, though, he had to work hard not to fall off the platform. If he did, he wouldn't live to regret it. Instead, he focused on the sandy ground. _Looks kind of like something you might see in a machine shop,_ Leo thought. Then, his eyes focused on a wrench twenty meters away. _That's what I'm going for._

 **9**

Wheat wasn't going in there. He wasn't even remotely considering it, and he never had. It was just too risky, and rarely did anyone who fled the Bloodbath initially die in the first few hours. And the first hour or two of the Hunger Games was the most dangerous. Instead, he would run into the nearest tunnel. He would go to his right, because he'd rather face off with Vixen than Anna, the cold-hearted Career from District 4.

 **8**

 _This is perfect for me,_ Hades thought. After all, he'd been named for the God of the Dead from Greek mythology. And the arena fit very well in with it. Hades could only see the sky through one little window high above them. He took in the jewel-encrusted walls, the sandy, peanut butter-colored ground. Then, he focused on the Cornucopia. The axes were right in the middle, so he'd be risking his life. But Horatio was right next to him, and he'd have his back no matter what. Hades was going for it.

 **7**

Ash was nervous. His eight in training was the source of much of this nervousness. After all, the Careers would be coming for him. It would be him and Miri who were targets. Luckily, though, aside from Anna two plates to his right, he wasn't really within any striking distance of any Career tributes. He could just get the black backpack thirty yards away and run with it. Yes, that was going to be his plan.

 **6**

Anna's body was ready for this. She'd been training for her whole life, after all. She decided that her best strategy would be to pretend that every enemy tribute was her abusive father. That way, she wouldn't feel guilty about killing anyone. The primal, human fear of death was what would propel her all the way to the armchair across from Caesar Flickerman, days or weeks from now, with the victor's crown squarely on her head. But for now, she had to focus on the task at hand. She had to find throwing knives.

 **5**

If Apollo wanted to get that apple strudel back at home, he would need to survive the Bloodbath. But a yellow backpack fifteen meters away caught his eye. He hoped that Anna, who was standing directly to his right, would be too preoccupied with what was going on closer to the center of the Cornucopia to chase after him. Because if she did, Apollo doubted she could take him. He'd have to run as quickly as he could.

 **4**

Ira didn't know what to do. There were some spears lying near the center of the Cornucopia. However, that was obviously the most dangerous place for a District 5 boy. Still, though, they were so tempting, and he didn't see any other spears anywhere around the area. _To go in or not to go in?_ That was the question.

 **3**

Aurora should have felt relieved by the fact that they were most likely near District 9 at this point. However, she didn't. Whatever else you could say about the Wheatlands, they were at least wide-open, and the sky was clearly visible anywhere you went. Here, Aurora could feel the immense weight of all the stone above and around her. This was likely to be her grave. District 9 would not get Aurora Baylor, biological engineer, to save them from their perpetual near-starvation, unless she won. And judging by the sheer number of people she would need to overcome, that was a long shot. Luckily, she was between Bryson and Ash in the circle of tributes-the _ring of fire,_ she thought, and neither of them was she all that worried about.

 **2**

Isabella knew what she needed to do. She needed to find anything with regards to rope in this Cornucopia. She didn't think she could handle any other weapons. After all, she was a healer, not a killer. She'd need some herbs, and maybe, just maybe, she could find some in the maze. But right now, she needed to find something, _anything,_ in the Cornucopia. The red backpack just thirty feet away from her looked like it fit the bill. She needed to think fast, though, because the countdown was nearing its end.

 **1**

The gong rang out. Tributes scampered off of their plates, and all was chaos.

Elegance and Conker headed for the same tunnel. Luckily, since neither of them had a weapon, neither of them really decided to attack the other. Elegance was much faster than Conker, so she was just focused on running away from the fight. Conker was in no condition to be able to keep up with the District 1 girl. So he just ambled down a random tunnel.

Things were far more chaotic closer to the center.

Several tributes were jockeying for position around the Cornucopia. Horatio and Hades ran in together, Horatio grabbing a mace while Hades grabbed an axe. They then both scanned the area for Margaret, Eli, Anna, and any potential targets they might be able to get out right now. They noticed Savanna and Bryson, coming in from opposite sides.

"You take 5, I'll take 10!" Hades ordered Horatio.

"I take orders from _nobody!"_ Horatio shouted back.

Hades looked as though he was about to respond. But he'd wasted his time. Bryson had grabbed a small pink backpack from near the edge of the area and was now fleeing. Horatio, on the other hand, locked on his target.

"You're dead to me!" he yelled.

Savanna looked behind her, and she only had time to register _Oh, shit, I'm dead meat,_ before Horatio was upon her. He tackled her to the ground and swung the mace into her forehead. Blood oozed into her eyes. Savanna tried to shout, but she didn't have the strength. She was the first person to die in the 63rd Hunger Games.

Horatio didn't stop there, though. He kept bludgeoning the poor girl's head until arms attempted to pull him off of her. It was Margaret.

"She's dead anyway. Stop wasting your time and go for people who are still _alive,_ you idiot!"

"Oh, yeah, right" Horatio said.

Together, the two Careers ran back to the edge of the Cornucopia, and met up with Anna from District 4.

"All right, Anna, you ready to kill some outer-district tributes?" Horatio asked with a sadistic grin.

"You bet" she said.

Right after these three Careers had converged, they separated again in directions that made an equilateral triangle. They were all hunting separate targets.

And Margaret had missed her chance! Missed it! She had not grabbed her katana! She ran back in, praying that she hadn't lost her window of opportunity to attack some more people.

Apollo had stayed on his plate, biding his time. He wanted to wait until the coast was largely clear before he retrieved the yellow backpack. Clearly, this was not the right move.

With the swing of a machete, he was decapitated. From behind him stepped a tall, skinny boy. Eli Trout.

"Eli!" Hades called. The two met each other halfway between the Cornucopia and the yellow backpack that Apollo had been gunning for.

"You take the left, I'll take the right, Horatio takes the middle!" Eli shouted. Hades, despite not liking too many people, gained a little respect for Eli in that moment. He sure was good at battle strategy. Maybe that was why he had volunteered for the Hunger Games, or gotten a ten in training. He might have time, later, to ask. But for now, they had to get back to business. There were a lot of other tributes all around them.

"Let's get Ira!" Horatio shouted.

Eli was holding his machete at the ready as he ran towards the District 5 boy. Ira had made the questionable strategic decision to go in to the Cornucopia, in order to grab his spears. Just like Apollo, however, he had waited too long.

Horatio held him back with his mace while Eli made the kill, a machete straight through the heart. Ira was cut practically in two by the blade. He was dead.

Miri and Isabella ended up right next to each other, both going for backpacks near each other. They looked at each other, and they both suspected that they were thinking the same thing:

"Want to form an alliance?" Miri asked the District 7 girl.

"I don't see why not" Isabella said, looking around for rope to use for anything, anything at all. Maybe even to set traps to strangle someone. But she found nothing. Besides, she could tell that the Careers were closing in on the two of them, clearly identifying a possibly budding alliance. They wanted to take care of any threats to their dominance early on, so why not do it now, in the Bloodbath?

They both ran towards the nearest of the twelve tunnels, when, suddenly, Miri collapsed to the ground. Isabella looked down to ask her what was wrong. That was when she noticed the knife in Miri's back. She looked behind her, wondering who the knife had belonged to.

Vixen was triumphantly holding a large red backpack, which had evidently contained some quantity of throwing knives. She had been the one to kill Miri. That little bitch.

 _That did it._

Isabella was pissed off. She was trying to go after Vixen now, but the smaller girl was expecting it and ducked into the nearest tunnel, and out of sight. But Isabella wasn't going to leave so easily. She needed to collect something from the outskirts of the Cornucopia. Otherwise, she'd have no chance.

Madi had still not left her plate. Not even when she saw Vair running past her, clutching a purple backpack and a dagger. She was too late to do anything about it, though.

The Indian boy from District 8 had quickly run her through with his blade. Madi stumbled off her plate, trying to stem the flow of blood from her gaping side wound. Her first priority, now, was escape. Hopefully, someone might sponsor her medical supplies. But she knew that was a long shot.

Leo, on the other hand, had grabbed his wrench. On the way, he ran into Em, who had clearly been trying to run away as well, but was too distracted by the carnage all around her. The hyperactive mechanic smacked her upside the head with his wrench. It wasn't enough to kill her, but it did knock her unconscious. She would be completely defenseless if any Careers came along. Which they almost certainly would, to finish her off.

On the other side, Madi's district partner, Ash, had acquired two pursuers. Horatio and Eli were on either side of him, looking for an opening to stab the boy. Ash looked to both directions, and realized he was screwed.

The mace caught Ash in the side. It hurt like a bitch, and he fell onto his back. Eli took the opening to stab him straight through the brain. This, of course, killed him quite quickly.

Six were now dead. But the Bloodbath wasn't over just yet.

* * *

Em regained consciousness. She was wondering where she was, and why she was surrounded by sandy rock the color of peanut butter.

Then she remembered...she was in the Hunger Games. The Bloodbath. And she needed to get out of here fast.

Unfortunately, Hades had seen Em stir, making him realize that she wasn't dead yet. But she would be after he got to her. That he was sure of.

Since Em was still somewhat dazed, she was absolutely helpless as Hades struck her down with his axe. The cannon didn't fire yet, signifying that there were still fish to fry all around the Cornucopia's chamber. Hades looked around, and he saw Isabella looking for some rope inside the Cornucopia.

The axe was not well suited for throwing, so he sent the order to Margaret to kill her with her katana.

She said, "I'm on it right now!"

Isabella grabbed a grabbling hook and tried to get something on Margaret. She wasn't swift enough to fully dodge it, as it lodged itself in her upper thigh. She quickly took it out, leaving a small bleeding area around that region in her leg.

But it wasn't fully enough for Isabella, who was easily cut down with Margaret's katana. **(Remember, kids, a grappling hook is no match for a katana!)**. That was another person dead, and then there was only one more target.

Ted had managed to get ahold of a Swiss army knife from the Cornucopia. It might not have been enough against Eli's machete, but he was managing to put up a fight. He managed to throw a knife into Hades's arm, but he didn't even flinch. The Careers were onto him now, and there was no escape.

Ted tried to run down one of the tunnels, but Anna was very fast. She managed to catch right up with him and give Ted a taste of his own medicine. A knife to his back sent him onto his knees. A second knife, to his brain this time, killed him. And, this time, a cannon fired, meaning the Bloodbath was over. The Careers returned to the Cornucopia to count the number of cannons that went off.

* * *

Leo was running down his chosen tunnel as fast as his scrawny legs could carry him. This tunnel sloped gradually downward, which he didn't like. He felt as though the earth was swallowing him, which could literally be the case. As he ran, he counted the number of cannons that went off.

 _One...two...three...four...five...six..._

They kept on going until they reached nine. Then, the cannons ceased altogether.

So, nine tributes had died in the Bloodbath. That meant that there were fifteen left. Leo had made it to the top sixty-three percent. He should be happy about that. But he wasn't.

That was nine innocent (probably) children that had just lost their lives thanks to the Capitol. Leo's blood was boiling. But he tried not to let it show on the TV screens of Panem. It wasn't like there would be too many cameras on him the whole time. They'd only show enough to see that Leo was alive and well, and still trucking, as far away from the Cornucopia as he could go.

He came to more forks, picking and choosing at random until the walls became more solid and metallic. Then, it looked like he was in some dank underground hallway. It was pretty dark down there, only illuminated by a few tiny lightbulbs along the way. But the darkness gave Leo a bit more clarity. This wouldn't be like most Hunger Games arenas.

This was an _underground maze._

* * *

 **That was the first chapter of the Games! Again, please don't hate me if your favorite character died. I know that I killed off a lot of characters here. But, for the most part, these were determined in advance. With that, I would like to have some obituaries at the end of chapters for anyone who died. So, here they are. I'm not intending to plagiarize Hoprocker. I'd just like to put that out, right here: That _is_ where I got the idea. But I'd probably do that if not for her stories, anyway.**

 **RIP Savanna, Apollo, Ira, Miri, Madi, Ash, Em, Isabella, and Ted**

 **Savanna: I know she was a fan favorite, and she had a pretty sad story. I initially planned to have her step off her plate too early, but I decided that I wasn't going to be THAT cruel. If her father dies, she'll see him again soon. I SERIOUSLY considered letting her win while I was at camp (so I could write a chapter about how she died in the Quarter Quell), but I realized that she would be too obvious of a winner, as well as the fact that this story is an AU.**

 **Apollo: I liked this character. His creator, ThomasHungerGamesFan, did not request his Austrian background; I came up with it myself. I liked that, considering that I have been to Austria before. And I LOVE apple strudel. It was a little sad to have him die so early, but I knew that at LEAST seven people had to die in the Bloodbath, so...yeah.**

 **Ira: I feel like I barely was told anything about this character. I decided to have the ones I knew the least about die in the Bloodbath, with exceptions for Apollo, Savanna, and Isabella, who I created. That's your punishment for submitting uninteresting characters! Just kidding.**

 **Miri: She had some potential as an outer-district Career. She was supposed to be from District 4, but since I already had Anna, I changed it to District 8 instead. And the high training score she got, as well as outing herself as a Career, was more than enough to put a large target on her back.**

 **Madi: I kind of liked her character. After all, she's one of the few rich people in District 12. She's disliked, and I don't know if the Gamemakers would have wanted her to win. Her creator, Thorn5502, favorited me and said that I wrote Eli well, so that's always good.**

 **Ash: I DID get some things about him. For whatever reason, I accidentally misplaced the PM submitting him, so I decided to make something up on my own. Ash's creator, calebbeers21, please tell me what you think. Did I completely butcher him? Was his writing acceptable? Calebbeers21, you've still got several other tributes, so hopefully you enjoy reading them.**

 **Em: Same deal with Ash, pretty much, except her creator was Juud108. I also thought that the name "Em" was not a good name for a person who would potentially go very far in the Hunger Games. She was supposed to survive a little longer, but I asked myself, "Is this worth it?". And I decided, eventually, that it wasn't.**

 **Isabella: Just like Savanna, except even more so, she was a fan favorite. I REALLY don't want you guys to kill me for killing her. I enjoyed writing her as a healer, and many people gave me feedback that they loved her. Sorry, people.**

 **Ted: I knew that, realistically, he'd have a hard time getting sponsors. Instead, I decided that since the Capitol kind of has it in for him, why not give him a 12 in training so that they'll go after him? So that's what I did. Maybe Ted will see his parents again. But that is not my concern in this story. I'm focusing on the 15 people who are still alive.**

 **And that's it for now! I really appreciate reviews. It seems that a lot of people are still struggling to get past my almost-9,000-word behemoth of a chapter. I still only have 43 reviews, and I'd like to have 100 by the time this is over and done with. When school starts, I might have less frequent updates, but I am spending a lot of time doing this, because I AM interested in it.**

 **Theme songs for the Bloodbath include the Volcano theme from NSMBW, Jungle Fever from Yoshi's Story, and the armed boss theme from Super Mario RPG.**

 **SnowLucario out.**


	16. Tunnels

**Hey, guys, it's SnowLucario again.**

 **Last chapter was the Bloodbath, which was pretty awesome. We have nine tributes dead, and a Career alliance that is minus Elegance. Poor Elegance, not being allowed into the alliance.**

 **All events, even from multiple POVs, are meant to take place in chronological order.**

 **With that, let's enjoy a chapter of the tributes exploring the Labyrinth!**

* * *

Elegance wished that she could have been a part of the Career pack. Of course, that was impossible, since Horatio wouldn't let her with her lower training score. And that was a big problem, because she could already tell that this arena would hold many horrors. She was only an hour out from the Cornucopia, but the tunnels she'd been going through had changed colors at least five times.

The first tunnel was the same as the chamber in which the Cornucopia had been; rock the color of peanut butter, lightly dusted with sand. The second tunnel that Elegance had gone through had been far narrower, sloping downward. This caused her some consternation. After all, she wouldn't be able to see attackers converging on her from the higher ground. But she didn't want to turn back; it was unlikely that there would be too many dead ends in this maze, and, judging from the cannons she had already heard, the fighting had stopped at the Cornucopia.

She'd counted nine cannons. That meant that fifteen tributes were still alive, including her of course. But who else was left? The other Careers were most likely still alive, so that might make six out of the fifteen remaining tributes. But who were they? Well, she'd find out that night, when they projected the images of the dead into the sky for all the living contestants to see.

That raised another question; how would they see the death recap? There were no doubt some rooms that opened up onto the sky, but it sure didn't seem like there would be windows in every room. So far, she'd only seen one in the central chamber, and she had no idea how to get there.

Elegance afforded herself a five-minute break. She hadn't been able to get anything in the Cornucopia, so she just sat there, panting from the exertion.

There was another reason Elegance didn't like going downhill; she was going _deeper into the earth with every step._ This made her feel like the place was swallowing her, which was not a pleasant feeling. But it got worse: the temperature rose slowly but steadily. Elegance had imagined that it was maybe seventy degrees in the Cornucopia's cavern, and increasing the further down she went. It might have been 75 degrees Fahrenheit by now. She wondered if she could find a way to cool down.

The simplest answer was to go back up. But she didn't know when she'd have the chance, or what might be awaiting her up there.

Still, though, she had to keep her wits about her, even in this wild place that was nothing like previous Hunger Games arenas. This underworld was getting crazier and crazier with every turn. She didn't have any idea what would come next, but she'd eventually find out.

* * *

Soon, Elegance reached a fork in the road. To her right was a red brick tunnel, with an asphalt floor, that sloped upwards. To her left, there was an area that seemed metallic.

Her initial instinct was to go further upwards, but she didn't know if it was a trap. She found that likely, since the Gamemakers could most likely change the way these tunnels led at will. Somehow, they'd make it so that it could be deadly to Elegance if she went up there. And they knew that that was the decision that Elegance was most likely going to take in this scenario.

 _Well, I'll show them,_ she thought.

Elegance took the left fork, leading her down the hallway. It reminded her of the corridor of the diamond factory in District 1, which she had been forced to tour every year on an annual field trip that all the schools in her district took. It was her least favorite place in District 1. Elegance had always had an affinity for nature, even though she was deathly afraid of snakes. But this area was the _opposite_ of that, and the further Elegance proceeded down this tunnel, the more convinced she became of that.

Finally, she emerged into a large cavern.

No, not a _cavern._ It appeared to be a factory warehouse, explaining the metallicity of the tunnel leading here. There were machines all over the ground level, some twenty feet below. Elegance was standing on a catwalk.

This arena was completely random, she realized. It could make you _think_ you were winning, when in reality, you were losing. With that happy thought, she decided to keep on moving. But something below her made her stop directly in her tracks.

A scrawny, Hispanic boy was walking among the machines, studying them as if he was trying to figure out how they worked. As Elegance looked closer, she realized that it was Leo, the boy from District 3. _A fellow tribute._ Of course, who else would have been in the arena besides the twenty-four competitors in the Hunger Games?

Elegance crouched down, trying not to make a sound. She'd glanced around, and couldn't see any stairs up here. The only way Leo would be able to get to Elegance would be via some convoluted route through the various tunnels. And Elegance's position would definitely have changed by then. She was sure of that. In a maze like this, you could get lost very quickly; in fact, Elegance was _already_ lost. But it didn't do to stay still for too long. Someone might find you eventually. And, if you idled long enough, the Gamemakers would make sure that something, or some _one,_ would force you out of your place of hiding.

For ten very agonizing minutes, Elegance was stuck in her position on the catwalk, scared to death that Leo would discover her. She wondered if he would find some way to get up there, or if another attacker would come via the catwalk.

Luckily, Leo didn't notice her. He eventually walked through the door on the other end of the factory warehouse. Elegance breathed a sigh of relief. Then, looking at the ceiling high above her, perhaps sixty feet or so, she continued down the catwalk and through the door on the other side.

* * *

Vixen had escaped the Bloodbath easily, with her fast feet and street smarts.

She didn't feel any regret at killing Miri. She was just a casualty of her own survival, nothing more, nothing less. And it had been well worth it. If it was a little harder to run with it on, whatever was in there might ensure that she could _keep_ running as long as she needed to in order to win the Hunger Games.

But she couldn't stop to ponder the contents of the pack now. She was just focused on getting as far away from the Bloodbath as possible.

She had gotten some decent throwing knives at the Cornucopia. She'd sacrificed one of them to kill Miri, because she was practically a Career despite being from District 8, which was obviously not a Career district. She still had four left, and she intended to save them for when she was actually being attacked.

Vixen's current tunnel was a lavish staircase with teal carpets, darker than the color that Eli had been wearing in the tribute parade last week. On the edges of the teal carpets was some golden trim, making images of what looked like roses. Just like the ones President Snow always wore on his chest. Vixen didn't know why the Gamemakers had bothered to include this, but she didn't really care right now. She just wanted to find a place to rest. She'd been going nonstop for nearly two hours. She thought that she deserved a break.

She continued down what must have been three hundred steps. She'd been going at maybe six miles an hour, so maybe eleven miles by now. At a tiny angle...she guessed maybe half a mile downhill at this point. And maybe two hundred feet was the equivalent of the steps she'd been going down.

So, she decided, two thousand, nine hundred feet was a good estimate for how far underground she was. That was pretty far down to find something so lavish! Maybe, just maybe, some rich person had lived down here long ago. It wasn't difficult to imagine that.

As Vixen opened the door at the bottom of the staircase, she was shocked by what she found.

* * *

The first thing she noticed was how large the room was. It was maybe fifty feet square, still not nearly as big as the central square of District 6, but still quite big compared to, say...her bedroom at home. But she didn't have a home. Well...maybe her bedroom in the Victor's Village of District 6, if she managed to make it back there.

When the cannons had rang out, Vixen had been scared. She didn't think that the Careers would have spent too much time back at the Cornucopia once the Bloodbath had been over. She had barely a thirty-minute head start on her mission to escape. Based on the complexity of this arena, that might be very good. After all, Vixen's journey had taken a lot of twists and turns, and the chances of the Careers choosing precisely the right path were minuscule. But she didn't want to risk that.

Just in case, she decided to look for something to barricade the door. To her shock, the room had a functioning light switch, which she flicked on.

A queen-sized bed with teal and gold sheets lay in the middle of the room. The lights came from a chandelier on the ceiling, perhaps thirty feet above. All six faces of this room were in the same teal-and-gold color scheme. There were two doors leading off from here, but Vixen didn't know where they might lead, or even if they led _anywhere._ For all she knew, they might lead off into a bottomless pit that would end up killing her by falling in, just like Mario in one of his games. That would require more investigation.

There was no telling whether or not the Gamemakers had made this room somehow dangerous. If there was a bathroom adjacent, maybe the tap water was poisonous. Or maybe the bed was enchanted somehow so that if you went to sleep in it, you would never wake up again. Vixen didn't know, and she didn't want to be the guinea pig. However, she strongly suspected that this was some sort of a trap. She had to get out of here.

As tempting as that queen-sized bed was, Vixen knew that it would have to wait until she got home. For now, she'd have to keep looking for a place to make camp.

* * *

It was going okay for the Careers.

As soon as the Bloodbath was over, they had once again converged around the Cornucopia, eager to discuss what had just happened in the Bloodbath.

"So...we only killed nine. Should we go out hunting again?" Horatio asked the group.

"I don't see why not" Anna said. "But we have to think this thing through. Each of you, take your weapon and _one backpack._ Then, let's see where whatever tunnel we choose takes us. I just hope we can get to one of the wimpy little tributes. Maybe even _Elegance_ ".

At that, Anna mimed a faint, Horatio having told her what Elegance had told him about her individual session in front of the Gamemakers. The other Careers laughed, even Hades, who rarely laughed at anything.

"I agree" Eli said. "I think that there are a lot of people who probably aren't too far away even as we speak. We should probably go hunt them down. Let's leave right now, before they're totally lost to us".

"I disagree with Eli" Margaret said.

The others glared at her.

"I mean", she said. "Yeah, we should go hunting, but we need to get organized first. Like Anna said, we each need to choose a backpack. And let's just take our time, choose the one that looks the best".

The others looked grateful, relieved that that was what she had meant. They then looked around for the best backpack to take, choosing ones that were relatively lightweight but held a relatively large amount of things that could prove useful to the tributes.

Horatio didn't take long before selecting a large, golden yellow backpack that, Margaret thought, befit his ego well. Elegance had told her before about just how arrogant her district partner was. But Margaret had had _no idea_ that he was like this.

Eli chose a purple backpack that was relatively small by comparison. This would probably be a little less awkward for him to carry, but the fact remained that it was unlikely to hold as much stuff as Horatio's. Unless the Gamemakers had pulled some sort of trick...

Hades had chosen a medium-sized red backpack. This one was pretty light on his shoulders, which, Anna thought, might mean that it didn't hold too many provisions. But that was inconsequential at the moment.

Anna chose a blue backpack that she looked inside before choosing. It contained a loaf of District 6 bread, the tire-shaped, dark type. Being from District 4, it wasn't something that Anna would have willingly chosen to eat. But, since she was in the Hunger Games, she really had no alternative. It also contained a water bottle and bandages in case any of them got wounded.

Margaret selected a black backpack. In it, she found a bag of pretzels, two apples, and five cheese sticks. _I really hit the jackpot!_ she thought. She didn't know how long she could make that food last, so it was going to be important to ration it. She might end up having to pool it with the other Careers. But it would surely help them until they decided that it would be time to turn on each other. Margaret didn't know when that would be, so, until then, she had to be constantly on guard to make sure that nobody decided to randomly just turn on her.

None of the three boys, not even boy genius Eli, checked the insides of their packs. The girls looked at each other, immediately making an unspoken agreement to keep an eye on those three boys, just in case they were going to turn on the girls. Three against two definitely favored the side with Horatio, Hades, and Eli above Anna and Margaret.

"Hey, guys" Anna said. "Check the insides of your backpacks".

"We did" Eli said.

Margaret sheathed her katana. "Empty them".

Eli did as he was told. Hades and Horatio, however, still glowered at Margaret's order. After Margaret pointed it directly at Horatio, hoping to bring his ego back to Earth, he complied. So, too, did Hades.

Eli's purple bag had evidently contained a flashlight, two loaves of District 4 bread, and matches. He dumped them into a pile. Thankfully, the matches didn't set the bread on fire.

Hades's red backpack contained two sleeping bags and nothing else. Horatio's contained a large apple pie, a box of saltine crackers, half a dozen bagels, and various lunch meats. None of them were happy to just dump their stuff on the ground, which they had risked their lives getting. Not as much as people from non-Career districts, but it had still been a risk.

The piles from the three bags all ended up in the same space of the ground, nearby the Cornucopia. The Careers had had to clear out briefly so that the bodies could be retrieved. But they weren't retrieved by the hovercraft, since they were underground. Instead, holes popped up in the ground, sucking the dead bodies through. It was pretty eerie, but at least they didn't have to deal with the stench. Now, though, they were back in the center of the cavern.

"It's ours now" Anna said. The three boys watched as she spread those out between herself and Margaret.

"That's no fair!" Eli complained. "That's our hard-earned stuff. Why do _you_ have to hog it all?!"

"Because", Margaret said, "you've clearly shown that you can't be trusted to keep track of your own items. This is not like being back in District 4, Eli. This is a life-or-death situation. This is the _Hunger Games. Surely_ someone with an IQ of 176 would know that".

Eli looked as though he was about to say something nasty back, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Good" Anna said, her and Margaret now scooping up the items from the ground and wiping as much sand as they could off of them. "Now let's get out there and see what this arena holds".

* * *

Leo had noticed Elegance above him as he went through the room that so resembled the main warehouse of a factory building, but it hadn't really fazed him. He'd been too busy examining the machines. Besides, he had figured it out by now; this place was a _maze._ Elegance probably wouldn't be able to get down to him via some staircase attached to the catwalk. With that in mind, he had been able to remain calm, cool, and collected as he continued on his walk through this mind-boggling underworld.

He didn't know why the Gamemakers would have chosen this for the arena. After all, it would not have made for a very interesting Games. Sure, no one would have any idea when one tribute was close to another, but that might make it kind of boring for the Capitol audience, Leo thought. And the Games could never be boring. If they became boring, the Capitol might sic some mutt onto Leo at any moment. Then, it would be a lot more exciting, because there would be at least one person having a deadly struggle for their life.

Still, though, Leo wasn't _too_ concerned with this. The sheer curiosity about what lay at any fork in the road would probably satiate the audience for some time. And he'd counted the cannons after fleeing the Bloodbath. Nine. That meant that nine of the twenty-four tributes had already perished. Tonight, if he managed to survive that long, he'd find out who they were. Then, he'd use that information to formulate a plan on what to do next.

But then, Leo saw an apparition out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

He wondered what it was. Was it an enemy tribute? A mutt? His own shadow?

Leo scanned his surroundings. His current tunnel was emerald green, and shaped like an egg standing on its hind "legs". That is to say, it was taller than it was wide. The roof was perhaps nine feet high, and the tunnel might have been four feet across where Leo's legs were. Not wide enough to run in the opposite direction of another tribute without risking getting killed.

What _had_ that been? Was Leo just going crazy? He doubted it. He'd only been in the maze for a few hours, and he didn't think that his mind would already be playing tricks on him. Not after just this long in the maze. But was that what was happening, or was there really another tribute somewhere in this tunnel?

Leo looked up at one of the little "windows" that dotted the tunnel. In it was a small girl, a few years younger than him. Was that a fellow tribute?

She was crying in fear, clearly being able to tell that she'd just been spotted. "Please don't kill me!" she wailed, even though that was only increasing the chances that _other_ tributes might find them.

"I won't" Leo said.

The girl turned around, and Leo immediately recognized her as his district partner, Siliconia. The only 12-year-old in these Games.

"Hello, Siliconia" he said.

Siliconia blanched at how Leo had greeted her so casually. She said, however, "Hello, Leo".

"How have you been doing in this arena?" Leo asked her.

"Not good" she sobbed. "I just wanted to make my sweet escape from here. But there's no chance of that happening. This place was designed to be inescapable, unnavigable. Is there _any_ way we can find our way out?"

"No, girl" Leo said. "But look at it this way: You've got a spankin' hot new ally" he said, putting on his most flirtatious smile possible.

"That is, assuming I decide to align with you, and not kill you right now" Siliconia shot back from her perch.

"You're bluffing" Leo said. "I know you are. You didn't get anything from the Cornucopia. You don't want to kill me. Trust me".

"Oh, yeah?" Siliconia said. "Give me one good reason why I should align with you".

"Because", Leo said, "safety in numbers, right? And together, I'm sure that we can find some food, somewhere. The Gamemakers probably don't want to let _all_ of us die of starvation".

"That's probably true" Siliconia said. "But, still, what happens when it's just us? I don't want to have to kill you later. Or have you kill _me"_.

"Don't worry, we'll separate peacefully long before that. And, because of the nature of this arena, I don't think that I'd ever be able to find you again. Or vice versa. So, I think that we can form a tentative alliance. Agreed?"

Siliconia still looked pretty hesitant.

"Look" Leo said. "If you want, you can get in a fight with me right now. It's either that or an alliance. And Uncle Leo's got a wrench. He'll beat you with it easily. You can't escape from me".

Siliconia looked down, but there was pretty much no way that she'd be able to escape Leo. She was in an alliance with this annoying ADHD mechanic, for better or for worse.

"All right" she said.

"Good" Leo said. "Now, let's explore the maze a little more. And find some food while we're at it. I'm hungry".

* * *

Conker was still hungover from the previous night. Of course, that kind of went without saying. All he wanted to do was go around and look for a place to empty his stomach. Then, he could probably find a place to sleep.

But not right now. He was currently moving at a snail's pace, going through a tunnel that led who-knew-where. And the battle at the Cornucopia had been over for several hours by now. He felt that the Careers would have probably found him by now if they had taken the exact same route as he, but that didn't make him relax. He still knew that he would try to gain some concealment. Find some sort of tunnel that would be a good place to camp out for the night.

Of course, in most parts of the labyrinth, words like "day" and "night" had no meaning. Conker wondered when the anthem would play, and he would find out who lived or died. But that wasn't going to be for another six hours, at least. But the anthem would wake him up, right? Depended on how completely stoned he was.

He decided that he would cross that bridge when he came to it. For now, he had to find as remote a place as possible. Which, of course, was nearly impossible in an arena like this. There were no rules, Conker quickly realized. Tunnels could go wherever the Gamemakers wanted them to go. Distance was meaningless. All he had to do was find a cavern that most people would assume that no tributes were hiding in.

* * *

Eventually, Conker found a cavern with purple mushrooms lining the walls and popping up from the ground. He was tempted to see if they were edible, but some innate sense that probably came from having lived all his life in District 7 told him otherwise. He didn't want to die from toxic fungi on the very first day of the Games. What would Berry think?

But, Conker decided, this was probably a good place to camp out. Too bad he didn't have a sleeping bag or a blanket, although it was pretty hot down here. It would still have been nice to have a mattress, though...

That was the last thing Conker thought before he fell into a deep, dreamless, drunken sleep.

* * *

 **Not including author's notes, that chapter is perhaps fifteen pages long, if it were printed at the density of _The Hunger Games._ For a fairly short chapter, a lot does happen. Currently, the results of the poll for which girl you would date are:**

 **1st: I'm a gay guy/straight girl with 2 votes**

 **Tied for 2nd: Anna, Aurora, Elegance, and Isabella with 1 vote each**

 **No one else has any votes at all.**

 **I think that the next chapter will state what is going on with the remaining tributes. Then...their first night in the labyrinth! What will await the tributes then? What lies at all of the twists and turns of this arena? Find out on the next episode of SnowLucario Hunger Games!**


	17. Anthem Antics

**I am now going to be opening up shop for sponsors. If you want to sponsor a tribute, you must follow these rules:**

 **1\. You must have submitted at least three signed reviews to** ** _Labyrinth_** **to sponsor.**

 **2\. You may only sponsor one tribute one time.**

 **3\. You may only sponsor through PM.**

 **4\. You cannot sponsor a tribute you created.**

 **5\. Sponsoring will not affect how long a tribute lasts. Everything was decided before the tributes even reached the arena. As such, your choice might not get in, just because the plot is largely figured out.**

 **And those are the rules. I also love the way that this chapter title is alliterative. You'll notice that I do that a lot. With this update, all three of my stories currently up have the same number of chapters, at 17. So...awesome?**

 **One more thing: We've passed the 50-review mark now. That's great, guys. Really! I love reviews. This story also is gaining on that 2,000-view mark, another awesome thing. This makes _Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games_ my most popular story.**

 **Now, let's get to the actual story!**

* * *

Bryson had come away with nothing. But it had been worth it. Every time he looked back, he half-expected to see the Career pack all ganging up on him. But it didn't happen. Even so, this was a maze, so it wasn't like he should have been too worried about this. But this _was_ the Hunger Games, and he could be forgiven for worrying needlessly about other children coming for you.

Still, he kept running until he could run no more. Finally, he reached a tunnel that had about four inches of water in it. The walls were dark, and the only illumination came from lights far off in the distance. Bryson wondered if this meant that he was dead, based on accounts he'd hear of the "light at the end of the tunnel", but he dismissed that notion out of hand. He hadn't felt anything, and he doubted that he could have dehydrated _that_ quickly, after only five hours. He'd been taking some breaks along the way to catch his breath, but it was a shame that he hadn't gotten any water bottle at all from the Cornucopia. Of course, maybe he should have also hoped for some iodine. Wasn't that necessary for purifying water?

Bryson shrugged. It did no good to worry about the past. He couldn't control the fact that he'd just run away like a coward from the Bloodbath. He was going to try to survive off of the land. But it wasn't easy to think of anything he could do in this maze to get food. Other than the water he had just come across. But, as said before, he didn't have a way to ensure that it was safe. And it was unlikely to be, since the Gamemakers would have made sure that the arena was as dangerous as possible.

 _Or maybe not,_ Bryson thought.

As much as Bryson feared the Gamemakers, this labyrinthine arena was probably dangerous enough as it was, that they wouldn't have wanted the tributes to die of thirst too easily. Maybe, just maybe, this water was safe to drink.

But should he take that risk? You could get very sick from untreated water, and he didn't want that to happen to him, especially not here, where there was no medical care. Even so, he was surely going to get thirsty soon.

He eventually decided: He would wait until he was _absolutely desperate_ for water. The early signs of dehydration-thirst and headache-had set in, but Bryson would wait until he felt worse. Much worse. After all, he'd rather die trying to make it so that he wouldn't. That was Bryson Holstein's mindset as he continued down the wet tunnel.

* * *

Eventually, Bryson reached an area where the wall converged around a circular hole two feet wide. He didn't want to go back the way he'd come-he didn't know if he might run into any Careers. But he wasn't sure he wanted to go through here either. He was pretty claustrophobic, and the last thing he wanted to do was to go through such a tight space without knowing what was on the other side. Of course, he saw a little bit of light pierce it, so he could tell that about half of the tunnel was completely filled with the water he'd just walked through. This meant that half of the space was completely unbreathable. This wouldn't be fun.

Bryson once again debated doubling back and seeing if there was another tunnel. But he decided to keep on exploring in this direction. After all, he could fit through this. He knew that. So he forced himself to crawl in.

Almost immediately, he felt some back spasms from being forced to stay in this position for so long. He'd only been crawling for half a minute, and it was difficult to make the decision to go on his belly (which would have made it harder to breathe) or to go on his back (which would have made it harder to see where he was going). Eventually, though, he chose to go on his back, propelling himself along with his leg muscles. It wasn't that hard, but it made him worry...what _would_ happen eventually, when he reached the end of the tunnel? What was awaiting him on the other side?

It might have been as little as two minutes, but it felt like two lifetimes before Bryson's feet were dangling at the edge of what he instinctively knew was a long drop-a _very_ long drop. Could he risk looking over the brink, or would that cause him to go careening off? Bryson had an instinctive fear of heights, which came from the instance in which his horse had bucked him off, breaking Bryson's left arm so severely that the doctors thought that it might never heal properly again. It did, but ever since, Bryson had always had a certain level of apprehension when confronted with heights.

Finally, as Bryson leaned forward to look at the room he was leaning into, he was arrested by the sight.

* * *

The hole he was in appeared to be one end of what was almost like a series of sewer pipes. There were several of these all around the walls. Speaking of walls: The cavern was absolutely massive, and it wasn't even _natural._ It looked distinctly manmade, like something you might see in a _Star Wars_ movie. Half a mile across, Bryson could see the lights all over the place. That had been the source of the illumination in the wet tunnel, he realized.

Bryson daringly scooched closer to the edge, and he peered over into the pit. Almost instantly, he wished he hadn't.

The drop seemed endless, straight into some black abyss so far down, Bryson could barely make it out. There was still a lot of water in the tunnel, pouring off into the bottomless pit, and it seemed to be dragging him towards the pit. It reminded him of the time he'd been on a zip line at summer camp. He'd had to sit down in order to go down, and because he was harnessed into the rope, gravity had been pulling him towards the bottom. It had taken all of Bryson's might to hold himself in place on the little wood platform until the instructor said it was safe to go down. Of course, not many people in District 10 could relate to this experience. But the Holsteins were an upper class family, so they could afford to send Winston, Bryson, and Garrett to camp.

That was almost exactly what Bryson felt like right here. Something, somewhere down that hole, was pulling him into the abyss. It took all of his strength to keep himself from falling in. He was about to go back, but quickly ruled that out. He didn't feel like crawling back through that place, although that was far less terrifying to Bryson than trying to find another place in this pit.

No, the thing that bothered him most of all was the fact that the water seemed to be beginning to flow. Inexplicably at first, but after a few minutes of Bryson, perched at the top of a nonexistent zip line, wondering what his course of action was going to be, the water had begun to pour out of the tubes, and Bryson was now _really_ struggling to hang on. He was now only ten feet from the edge...five feet...his legs were over the rim...

Bryson eventually fully fell in, and he was still trying to hold onto the metallic pipe he had just emerged from. Only his fingertips were keeping the seventeen-year-old from losing his grip entirely. And then, his shot at winning the Hunger Games and returning to District 10 would be over.

And then, the unthinkable happened.

Bryson's fingers slid off, and he was now free-falling through open air. He grasped at anything in order to arrest his fall, desperately hoping...

His fingers scraped the edge of a pipe.

 _Yes!_ he thought.

Bryson had managed to catch himself on the edge of a pipe. With no idea how far he had fallen, or how far he might have left to go if he lost his balance, he attempted to slide himself into the pipe, identical to the one he had just fallen out of.

His fingers slipped, leaving Bryson hanging on for dear life. He tried to maneuver his legs to the inside of the claustrophobic tunnel. Amazingly, he succeeded. But now came the process of crawling through.

 _Here we go again._

* * *

Wheat hadn't been doing too badly. Despite not having managed to scrape up any food, water, or weapons from the Cornucopia, he wasn't getting too weak just yet. It had only been six hours since the Bloodbath, so he would not need to worry about that too much just yet. Still, though, it would be nice to find some source soon. He doubted that would be easy in such an arena.

As Wheat turned a corner into another tunnel, he saw another tribute. It was the girl from District 10, Cam. They exchanged awkward glances, wondering who would be the first one to kill the other.

"How's it going, Wheat?" Cam asked the boy.

Wheat was taken aback by the casual manner the girl had used when asking him that question. "Well, let's see. First, I get reaped for the Hunger Games. Then, I am forced to run from the Bloodbath with absolutely nothing! I've been wandering these tunnels for six fucking hours! And now, you puny little girl feel the need to sneak up on me!"

Cam flinched at Wheat's demeanor. Clearly, she had not expected the District 11 boy to be so rude to her. But it was only to be expected. After all, just like he had said, this was the _Hunger Games._ Being friendly to your fellow tributes was definitely not the norm here. But Cam wasn't expecting what Wheat did next.

Wheat forced himself onto Cam, attempting to choke her. But he'd forgotten something; he wasn't that strong. Before long, _Cam_ was the one pinning him to the ground, in self-defense. She hadn't been expecting Wheat to attack her. He'd only gotten a four in training, after all. What was the worst he could do to her?

As it turned out, Wheat, despite not being very strong physically, could sure get some good punches in. He rolled Cam onto her stomach. Then, he stepped onto her chest.

"What...are...you...doing?" Cam gasped, as the weight of another human being made it difficult to breathe.

Wheat began _jumping_ _on her._ Cam tried to get him off of her, but she just didn't succeed. Before long, her blood splattered the limestone tunnel all around them. She had no more left to give.

When the cannon sounded, Wheat didn't stop. He continued using Cam's body as a trampoline. Finally, he stepped off to observe his work.

Camille Whey was dead, there was no question about that, especially with the cannon. Her vital organs were visible, since Wheat had effectively crushed her to death.

Wheat felt nothing. Not joy, not the stereotypical feeling people get after killing another human being. All he thought about was how Cam had gotten in his way of winning the Games, and as such had needed to be eliminated. That was what kept him from feeling guilty.

But he didn't dwell on this for too long. He looked around, and, after finding what looked like the best way to proceed, stole away down that tunnel, wondering who he might run into next.

* * *

Vair had used his speed to get in and out of the Cornucopia with a dagger and a backpack of choice supplies. Now, he was looking for a place to bed down. After all, it was probably early evening by now, judging by the shadows cast across the tunnel in the few places that opened up to the sky. And he was sure that he was far enough away from the Cornucopia to be safe. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so sure about this, but that was just how he was feeling.

Now, as he settled down in a tunnel with crystalline blue walls and floor, he began to examine the contents of his backpack. This was the moment of truth: had he grabbed what he would probably need to win the Games?

The answer: Probably not.

In the bag was a blanket, a bag of gummy worms, a small box of pretzels, and a canteen for carrying water (which there was none of). There was no iodine for purifying any water that Vair might come across. So that was practically useless unless he could get a sponsor to send him some. And getting a sponsor was unlikely because of his score.

 _Fuck,_ Vair thought.

He really didn't have much. Of course, he was probably better off than a lot of other tributes, save for the Careers, of course. But that still didn't keep him from wishing that he could just have more.

 _More._

That had kind of been his mantra for a lot of his life. Growing up poor in District 8, he'd always fantasized about how different things could have been if they had just had _more._ Of course, he had never gotten a very good education. He'd often felt that his parents had favored Velvet over him. Of course, that was more their problem. But that didn't change the fact that if they had had more money, they would have had no reason to favor Velvet. They could both go to a good school and learn a craft. Instead, Vair had been reaped for the Hunger Games.

Of course, that may have partly had to do with the fact that Velvet was much younger. When his mother had just recently given birth to his sister, Vair had often felt that she paid far more attention to her than him. But Vair didn't want to dwell on this for too long, since he was in the Hunger Games. He had to effectively set up camp.

Vair was pretty good at survival skills. Even though District 8 was very urban, he'd still picked up those skills somewhere. He couldn't quite remember where; he just felt as though they were something innate within himself. He had instinctively known which plants were edible and which were not.

But the anthem was probably only a couple of hours away. Vair took out his blanket that he'd found in his backpack. But he didn't lay it over himself, because it must have been eighty degrees in there, and Vair wasn't about to sleep in the nude in the arena, for all of Panem to see. Instead, he put it down as though he was about to have a picnic on the spot. He wiped some of the dust off of it. And then, without further hesitation, he treated himself to five gummy worms.

He sat back down and waited for the anthem. Then, he'd see who the fourteen tributes still alive were. There had been nine in a row earlier today, signifying the ones who had died in the Bloodbath, but only an hour or so ago, another one had gone off. Vair wondered if it had been the Careers or some other tribute who had gotten to them.

 _I might never find out._

* * *

Aurora, meanwhile, was very satisfied with what she had gotten from the outskirts of the Cornucopia. As she'd predicted, neither Ash nor Bryson had really made a move to get her. Which had relieved her as she had made out with a large orange backpack. It had put a little strain on her shoulders, so she couldn't go as quickly as she would have liked. But that was unlikely to be a problem. She could imagine how complicated it must look up in the Gamemaker's control room, bending tunnels to their will, looking at the massive multi-level maze.

Aurora had gone through six different tunnels thus far. The first tunnel had sloped gradually downwards, with the same rusty-colored walls as the central cavern. Through this area, the floors were carpeted with black rugs, twenty feet with maybe five-foot gaps between each one. The only places in District 9 with rugs like these were the Justice Building, the mayor's house, and maybe the homes of a very small class of elite within the mayor's inner circle. This unnerved her. Probably, there was some sort of trap or trick in here.

The second tunnel had walls that were hot pink, and this tunnel was heart-shaped. It looked like some fancy Tunnel Of Love amusement park ride. Of course, there were none of these in District 9, except when someone from Aurora's district won the Hunger Games. Which occurred very rarely; in fact, Aurora had never seen it happen during her lifetime. But still, she'd heard stories.

The third tunnel was teal in color and sloped extremely gently upwards, making Aurora feel that she was making up for a little bit of lost elevation. As soon as the anthem came on, Aurora wanted to be in a place where she could see the sky. That would really be helpful. Otherwise, she didn't know if she would be able to find out who was dead or alive. And she desperately wanted that information.

The fourth tunnel was golden yellow and very small and narrow. Aurora had had to crawl through, and even then, it was pretty unpleasant. All she could think was that if there was a drop of some sort on the other side, she was screwed. She wouldn't be able to prevent herself from falling over the edge, she knew. She just had to hope that this was a safe tunnel to go through. And thankfully, it was. Aurora lived to make it to the fifth tunnel.

The fifth tunnel was a reddish-orange color, which brought to mind the image of lava. It was almost so red that Aurora felt like she was suffocating, and she had to consciously try not to hold her breath. She didn't want to pass out and wake up to find the Careers standing over her. Or not wake up at all, which might be just as bad. But she still forged onwards and found the sixth and final tunnel, which she was currently in.

Aurora looked around her current room. It had black walls and a few fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Then, she noticed plants on tables in the middle. This place was kind of like a greenhouse. Kind of like a _lab_ that she might be working in in the future, had her future not been stolen from her.

This just added insult to injury, really. She had no doubt that the Gamemakers had put this room here just for her. But, at least, she could see the anthem from here. That was a plus.

 _No!_ , Aurora thought.

She couldn't stay here. If she was right and the Gamemakers had this as a trap, then something in this room was most likely designed to kill her. She had to get going and find somewhere else to examine whatever was in the backpack.

* * *

Aurora found a box of Wheat Thins, half a cold sandwich, and a sleeping bag in the orange backpack. That wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either. She wished that she had been able to find some water in there, but unfortunately, there was nothing to carry it in. She'd just have to make do and hope that there was some rich sponsor who would like her well enough.

Knowing that they would probably cut this out, but finding that it made her feel better to say this, she said "Grayne (her mentor's name), I want to be a biological engineer, to feed more people in 9. Sending me some water or something would really help that happen, okay?"

No response. Not like she had expected any. Grayne was most likely either not in the mood to be helpful, or she was attending some party somewhere for mentors. So Aurora tried to get that out of her mind, and she got in her sleeping bag. She looked up at the hole opening up to the slowly darkening sky. And waited. Waited for the anthem to play...

* * *

Leo and Siliconia had made their way, miraculously, to the factory catwalk that Elegance had spotted Leo from earlier that day. They didn't know if they would be able to see the death recap from here, considering there was no sky visible in the ceiling, but they decided to risk it. They didn't know where the nearest place with an open window out onto the sky would be, so they decided to bed down in this room. They didn't have anything except for Leo's wrench, which even he admitted wasn't a very good weapon in the Hunger Games.

Luckily, they needn't have worried about the death recap. There was a hologram of it everywhere you looked, so they could easily view the faces of the ten tributes who had lost their lives that day.

First came Ira from District 5. That meant that everyone from the first four districts was still alive; the Careers of 1 and 2, Leo and Siliconia of course, and Eli and Anna of District 4, also in the Career pack. Neither of them had made very strong relationships with Ira, so it didn't affect them too much.

Next came Savanna. She'd been the first one to die. Again, neither of them were too affected in terms of alliances, but that didn't change the fact that Savanna was such a sweet girl. And her father...she'd had such a great sob story during her interview. And she'd died less than sixteen hours later. How sad. District 5 was out of the running for this year.

Apollo was the third person to appear in the sky. Considering his training score of 7, this was a surprise to both of them. Usually, tributes with scores like that made it past the first day. Was he the one who had died hours after the Bloodbath? They were unlikely to ever find out.

Isabella appeared next. "Wait, her and not _Conker,_ the drunk who got a 1?" Leo asked snarkily.

"I guess so" Siliconia said.

The girl from District 7 was followed by the girl from District 8, Miri, who had apparently been training before volunteering and arriving in the Capitol, if what she had said was true. You couldn't just say stuff like that and expect the Careers to ignore you. You'd face retribution for your actions later.

And then Ted from District 9. That wasn't too surprising. After all, he'd gotten a 12 in training, which was not something that the Careers would overlook. Plus, he was a notorious criminal, which was _why_ he had gotten a twelve in the first place, most likely. To make him a target.

Counting on her fingers, Siliconia realized that there were four people left who had died. Who were they?

Well, Cam of District 10, for one. Leo and Siliconia were unaware that she had been the one who had been killed hours apart from the others. They just thought she was another Bloodbath tribute and that was all. And then there was Em from District 11, who'd only scored a two, and it really wasn't surprising to see her up in the sky.

Which only left two more, but it was blatantly obvious at this point. Both tributes from 12 were dead.

Siliconia and Leo both looked at each other, thinking the same exact thing:

 _The field has really been narrowed down._

Only two districts were completely out of the running right now, 5 and 12, although Conker could probably be counted out. The Careers were all still alive, and were a problem, but Elegance was not with them, if what they'd been told was true. So five true threats, plus one sort-of threat. There was still the girls from 6 and 9 to worry about, but the rest of the tributes, Leo thought, didn't really pose that much of a threat. Only four districts, including them, still had both of their tributes alive. Leo and Siliconia looked at each other, both thinking that maybe, just maybe, District 3 had a chance this year.

Maybe one of them would win.

* * *

 **RIP Cam**

 **Cam: I kind of liked this girl. She was from District 10, which is one district that I like a lot, despite being from District 5 (in truth, closer to Districts 8 or 13). Her name was initially supposed to be Cameron, but I think that's a boy's name. So I changed it to Camille instead. And I think that a lot of people like this. That** **being said, I didn't think she was too interesting a character, and I won't miss her too much. Bwa-ha-ha!**

 **I know this chapter was also pretty slow-paced, but I just didn't see what else it should be other than what the other tributes were dealing with. I think that future chapters will get into a place where there is more action. But this isn't really the time in the Games for that.**

 **Theme songs for Cam's death include "Pumped-Up Kicks" by Foster The People, "We Are Young" by Fun, and "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes.**

 **I now have theme songs as well for three tributes.**

 **Elegance: Boulevard Of Broken Dreams by Green Day**

 **Aurora: If Everyone Cared by Nickelback**

 **Bryson: Free Fallin' by Tom Petty**

 **One more thing: if anyone is willing to create a cover for this story, I would greatly appreciate it. I'd prefer a picture of a maze on it, with the cover saying, "Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games. A novel by SnowLucario". Just show it to me and I may request a few changes to be made, but I'll almost certainly approve it. Any kind of fan art will probably cause me to fawn over it for the rest of my life, too. Just PLEASE tell me where it is, should you make it.**

 **I've been rambling enough.** **SnowLucario out.**


	18. Traps, Tricks, and Trios

**I now have over 150,000 words archived on this site. To commemorate this momentous occasion, let's introduce the first-ever sponsor! Remember, guys, this does not mean that whoever is sponsored will make it any farther in the Games than they are initially slated to. I'm just making this spice up the plot a little bit more.**

 **This chapter in itself is a bit longer than the previous two, at a little more than six thousand words. Hope it's all worth it.**

 **Okay, guys, let's get to it!**

* * *

It seemed as if Leo had only been asleep for a few seconds, but when Siliconia woke him up, she claimed that he'd been out for several hours. The poor girl had watched over Leo. Hopefully, he didn't snore too loudly. He didn't think his district partner would have appreciated that.

"It's your turn on watch" she said curtly.

Leo wiped the sleep out of his eyes and went over to sit where Siliconia had been. The factory catwalk was not the most comfortable place to sleep, especially considering the nightmarish situation they were in. Here they were, hundreds of f"eet below District 9, with twelve other teenagers out to do everything possible so that they wouldn't see the morning. Leo was really hoping to catch a break. Maybe he'd be sponsored a stimulant of some sort, because he really did feel as though he might nod off at any moment.

It wasn't long, though, until Leo received the only stimulant he would ever need. If for whatever reason he was stuck in this arena forever, he wouldn't need any coffee anymore, even though he was severely ADHD.

A silver parachute was descending, making its usual chiming noises. Leo ran over to it, excited to see what it might contain. He ripped open the protective metal casing to see what was in it.

However, he wasn't thinking about the amount of noise he was making, which woke Siliconia up.

"What _is it,_ Leo?" she asked groggily, yet grumpily at the same time.

"We just got sponsored, Bradley!" Leo exclaimed enthusiastically as he pawed open the gift. A small letter was tied to it. He opened the letter first.

"What does it say, Nale?" Siliconia asked, clearly put off by Leo's referring to her by her last name.

Leo read, " _This is to help you set up traps in the arena. It could mean the difference between life and death. From, Medicine Cat of the Opera"._

"Wait...Medicine Cat of the Opera? Who the fuck is that?" Leo asked.

"Watch your language, Leo Nale. Anyway, I think that this Medicine Cat person...it says, _P.S. My real name is Clover._ Wait, what? Anyway, I think that it's some rich Capitolite who's sick of seeing Careers win every year and has decided to take matters into her own hands".

"Well, can't argue with that" Leo said. "I mean, all the ladies love Leo".

Leo laughed inwardly at that. And outwardly as well. Once, he'd programmed the JumboTrons in District 3 to read _ALL DA LADIES LUV LEO._ He'd been strongly considering doing that for the chariot ride as well, but the stylists had thought that that might make him out to be a flirt, which might make the audience dislike him more than it would make them like him.

Siliconia shushed him, for good reason. She suspected that the Careers might have been out hunting that night, even though it had to be at least one or two in the morning. Of course, time was hard to tell in an underground maze.

"Let's see what's in there, Leo" she said.

Leo pawed open the package. He let out an excited gasp.

Inside the package was a long coil of wire, a light bulb, and three C batteries.

* * *

"Urrrhhh...ggggnnnnhhhhh..."

Eli had never felt this stiff upon waking up. For a few seconds, he didn't realize exactly _why_ he felt this way. Then, the memory of the previous day came to him.

Eli Trout, boy genius, was in the Hunger Games. This, of course, was no secret to him, or to anyone else in Panem. He was in the Career pack, and they had only had two sleeping bags. Yesterday, after the initial Bloodbath at the Cornucopia, they had checked over the supplies, and then the girls had taken everything...

 _Those fucking girls._

Anna Hardy and Margaret Malachi were currently sleeping in the two sleeping bags that they had gotten at the Cornucopia. After all of the drama the previous day with regards to the supplies, the girls had divided the boys's supplies just between the two of them, to punish Eli, Horatio, and Hades for not checking what was inside their backpacks before taking them. Now, Anna had control of Eli's purple and Hades's red backpacks, while Margaret was keeping what was in Horatio's yellow bag for himself. They were pretty selfish, Eli thought. After all, at least for now, they were all in this together. Of course, at some point they'd be forced to turn on each other, but that day was probably pretty far away. There were still 14 of them left, and Eli didn't know who had killed Cam. Even with his genius-level IQ, he couldn't tell that without further information.

Eli slowly lifted his body up off the rocky beach he'd been sleeping on. His back ached so badly he doubted he'd be able to do much hunting today. But he didn't want to tell that to the rest of his alliance. They just might kill him if he wasn't useful today. He'd had to prove his worth to the Careers, and his training score of 10 had certainly done that. On the bright side, Horatio and Hades had also slept on the bare stones, so they'd be just as sore as he. Except...that wasn't really good news. After all, these girls were running the show in the Career alliance, and Eli had had just about enough of that. It had only been 20 hours or so in the arena, and yet he was already absolutely sick of Anna and Margaret. Eli picked up his machete.

No, he wouldn't kill himself. Surely, there was some other escape from this...

He couldn't kill Margaret or Anna, either. The cannon would announce their deaths, and he sincerely doubted that anyone could sleep through _that._

Eli would just have to endure it until he had finally achieved victory. And then, he'd be free of these other Careers.

 _You know, now might be an excellent time to leave,_ he thought. _No one else seems to be awake. You could be free of all of them._

As much as Eli resented these other people, he knew that he couldn't just up and leave like that. He needed the Careers. He needed an alliance to ride as far down the line as possible. And he didn't want to be one of those Careers who died in seventh place. He didn't even want second.

In the Hunger Games, there was only one winner.

* * *

Leo and Siliconia had tried to go back to sleep. When it was finally Siliconia's turn on watch again, Leo tossed and turned, wondering what he would do with the electrical supplies that they had just been sponsored. He knew that he was very lucky. Sponsors typically didn't come this early in the Games, especially to a pair who had a combined training score of 7, one of whom had gotten a one by singing pop music.

Maybe he could set up a trap of some sort...

That was Leo's thought process as he drifted off back to sleep.

* * *

In most of the maze, the word "morning" had no real meaning. Still, though, once the Careers had all aroused themselves, they shared half of the pie. Horatio complained that he should have gotten more than one tenth of the apple pie, but Margaret wasn't having it.

"Look, Horatio, with that attitude, you should feel lucky that you get _any_ at all".

This almost sparked another argument, but Hades looked at both of them severely, so Margaret backed off, still looking a little put out.

Once they were done with this breakfast, they decided to go hunting for more tributes. They wandered aimlessly down tunnels for several hours, feeling completely and totally lost, wondering how on Earth they were going to find anyone in the labyrinth.

Eventually, Anna said, "I heard some footsteps up there. I think there are some tributes up there".

"Are you sure?" Hades asked.

"Yes, I _am,_ Blackett!" Anna said. "I heard two sets of footsteps, probably from little kids".

"How can you tell that they're younger than us, Anna?" Eli asked his district partner. The boy from District 4 had been suffering from a bad back for the last few hours, and had had a difficult time keeping up with the group. It affected the other two boys to a certain extent (because they hadn't had sleeping bags, while Anna and Margaret had), but Horatio and Hades were both more muscular and well-built than Eli, so the genius had been struggling. But he tried not to let it show.

"I just can, Trout" Anna said. Eli was a little pissed off that Anna always called him by his last name, but he decided to let it go. They had far bigger problems at the moment. Such as, finding out who those two tributes were.

"Let's keep going that way!" Horatio said.

The Careers ran for the entrance to the factory room that, unbeknownst to them, District 3 had been camping in.

* * *

Little did the Careers know, Leo and Siliconia had spent the last three hours working on a trap, using the electrical wire that they had been sponsored by the mysterious person known as "Medicine Cat of the Opera". This had lifted their morale a little, but it still looked pretty bleak for the two of them. After all, Leo had had a future as a mechanic, as dim as it may have seemed. And Siliconia...Leo could definitely see her making it somewhere profitable. She was definitely likable enough. Maybe she could become a pop singer and go to and from the Capitol. She could learn to sing their propaganda...

 _Yeah,_ Leo thought. _Not gonna happen._

Leo wasn't a rebel by any means, but he didn't exactly approve of the Capitol's methods, particularly not sending twenty-four innocent adolescents to the Hunger Games each year. His mother had always told him to be thankful for what he did have, and not risk it for more, particularly in the environment they lived in.

Anyway, the duo had spent the last several hours tying a trip wire around the factory machines. Someone coming in to attempt to kill them would most likely be moving fairly quickly, and as such it would be very easy for them to trip over the black wire that ran all over the factory floor. It was a very effective trip wire, and it could become a lot more deadly if they were actually sponsored a weapon of some sort, besides just a lame wrench that Leo had managed to get from the Cornucopia. That was pretty weak, he admitted to himself. It was unlikely to kill a Career, but maybe something like a sword would.

Leo could only hope that someone came in running, because that would be absolutely hilarious, and might acquire him and his district partner more sponsors. They'd see Leo and Siliconia as a cute little duo who set traps to get the other tributes. It would be pretty well-liked in the Capitol, that was for sure. And that was what Leo always tried to shoot for. After all, all da ladies luved Leo. He only hoped that all da sponsors would luv him as well.

"Do you think that this is going to go well?" Leo asked Siliconia.

"As well as anything could go" Siliconia said back.

Just then, there was a pounding on the door, and the Careers came rushing in. Four of the five of them, minus Elegance, were smart enough to hang back.

Horatio wasn't.

Horatio amusingly tripped over one of the wires and fell flat on his face. Cursing, he attempted to pull himself back up using the ropes. This gave Leo time to rush at him with a wrench. Horatio, still shocked that the awesome Horatio Jewel had gotten hoodwinked by a bunch of little kids from District 3, drew his mace.

But not before Leo Nale had inflicted a three-inch wound across Horatio's right arm. Horatio was barely fazed by this, and he kept pursuing the younger boy with his mace.

Leo began running away, motioning for Siliconia to follow. Both of them managed to make it down through the other doorway before the Careers managed to get to them. Then, they disappeared back into the maze.

Horatio, clutching his arm to his side, walked back to the Careers. His massive ego was deflated a little, but he didn't let it show.

"Are you okay, Horatio?" Eli asked.

Horatio nodded, saying, "Of course I'm fine, Trout!"

Margaret came over with her backpack. Out of it, she took a small first-aid kit that she had gotten from the Cornucopia.

"I need to clean and dress your wound, or else it might get infected" she said to Horatio.

"I need no medical care, Malachi!" Horatio said pompously, as if he owned the place.

"Look, _please_ call me by my first name. I need to stop the bleeding".

"Are either of your parents doctors or nurses, Margaret?" Eli asked her. It was a perfectly legitimate question, since none of the ordinary people in the districts, not even Eli 176 (some of his peers at high school back home called him that), were allowed to travel in between districts except on official business, which for District 4 just meant transporting seafood. Which neither of Eli's parents did.

So Eli Trout legitimately had no idea what Mr. and Mrs. Malachi did for a living.

"No, Eli, they're not" Margaret said. "My mother's a Peacekeeper-"

"Wait" Hades interrupted her. "You mean Philippa Malachi, the one in 2 who's known for being especially lenient? Is that your mom?"

Margaret nodded. "And my father is a blacksmith. You might have heard of him, Hades. Walter Malachi".

Hades nodded at this as well. But Margaret didn't have anything else to say as she laid Band-Aids on Horatio's arm wound. The boy didn't show any signs that he was embarrassed at all. He still looked just as arrogant as always.

"Let's find somewhere else to camp" said Anna, who had barely spoken at all ever since they'd left that morning. The other Careers agreed, and they set out down the same tunnel from which they had come.

* * *

Aurora, meanwhile, had an agenda of her own.

In the same backpack that had contained the food, she had also found a very long climbing rope. She had recognized it despite not having much use for it back at home. District 9 was very flat, so nobody really did that much climbing. And the Baylors hadn't been able to afford a membership at the rock climbing gym. Of course, practically nobody in the Wheatlands could. But Aurora had known what her plan was going to be all along.

She'd always known that she wasn't the most physically strong tribute in this arena, and never would be. So, instead, she had decided that her best bet was going to be to try to find a weapon of sorts and use rope to trap her opponents. That was going to be her strategy. Brains over brawn, always.

The weapon part of the trap would have to come later, once she had shown Grayne and any sponsors that she was worth sponsoring. But she could definitely construct a net of sorts to capture any unsuspecting tributes who happened to come across her.

First, Aurora had made sure to find a narrow tunnel that nobody could hope to run through without being ensnared. After half a mile, she'd found a three-foot-wide gray one that seemed to fit the bill just perfectly. And then, she began to knot the rope along certain places on the ceiling and ground.

She thought this was going swimmingly until the rope came undone at the top. Aurora let out a couple of F-bombs at this, but she kept going. She was determined to set this trap, whatever it took.

An hour later, Aurora was soaked in sweat and had barely made any progress. The rope was still stuck at the top, and she had not yet managed to get the net attached to the floor of the tunnel. And, the whole time, she had to be careful not to get _herself_ trapped on accident.

But, no matter what, she wasn't going to give up. She ended up going to look for something to hold the net in. Then, she realized that water was dripping from the top of the cave. Water...dark gray soil...that meant...

"Clay!" Aurora said aloud. Immediately, she knew what she was going to do. She used wet clay to fasten the points of the net to the wall on all four sides. When she was finally done, after a good two hours or so of work, she went back to admire her handiwork.

It was brilliant.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leo and Siliconia were scrambling to escape from the Careers. They ran as quickly as they could once they were outside of the factory cavern, really hoping that there were no other enemy tributes lying in wait, and that they weren't being pursued. At the same time, they knew that they were probably safe wherever they were, from the other tributes at least, since this arena was so complex.

Neither of them spoke to each other very much as they made turn after turn, alternating between left and right so as not to end up back at the same place, but also adding in a few consecutive lefts or rights at certain points so that they would be less predictable, just in case the Careers _were_ on their tail.

Eventually, they reached a narrow tunnel that was dark gray at the edges. Water dripped from the tunnel's ceiling, perhaps eight feet high, making a claylike substance on the floor in certain places, which made the going that much tougher. Leo and Siliconia could see their footprints, which was not good. If the Careers truly _were_ actively looking for the District 3 tributes, they might be able to follow the footprints where they led.

But just then, something happened that was even more _not good._

Leo and Siliconia were trying to put as much distance between themselves and the Careers as they possibly could, when they noticed what looked like a massive spider web in front of them. They didn't want to turn around, in case they were being stalked, and they didn't know if they could bust through.

Instead of breaking through, Siliconia and Leo were tripped and fell into rope that chafed against their arms and legs. When they tried to get out, it seemed to just wrap more tightly around them. A net.

District 3 had been tied together like a bunch of kittens with a ball of yarn.

* * *

At the same time as this was going on, Wheat was continuing on his quest to find more tributes. After he had killed Cam the previous afternoon, he had barely felt any remorse at all. This did scare him a bit. He was no Career-quite the opposite, in fact-he'd only scored a four in training. But somehow, killing Cam had felt somehow... _good._

Wheat told himself that he wasn't becoming some kind of psychopath, it just felt good to kill others because each death brought him one step closer to making it back home alive. But he didn't know if that was the case.

Wheat's current tunnel was a crimson red in color, as if he was going down the throat of a massive dragon. It also sloped downwards, which only added to this feeling, and the air became warmer and warmer the deeper he descended. How long before it completely roasted him, he didn't know, and he didn't want to find out the hard way. The first time he had the chance, Wheat decided, he would find a path that would take him back up. Then, he thought, he would not only be in less danger of burning up, but would also be more likely to encounter more tributes. He didn't know if he'd be very effective at killing them, due to his lack of physical strength as well as his not having a weapon. But he had to try to do anything possible to live to see the age of fifteen.

He didn't find any tunnels going back upwards, though, so he really only had one option, which was to continue down into the Earth's crust. He didn't know how long it would be until he was in the mantle instead.

 _This has to be over soon,_ Wheat thought.

* * *

At the same time, Vixen had been doing okay. The orange backpack she had taken from the Cornucopia contained some pretty good provisions that would hopefully allow her to survive several days before she had to resort to stealing from other tributes. Even though stealing was one of Vixen's greatest skills in her everyday life back in District 6, she didn't want to do it here in the arena. It didn't have anything to do with the moral questionability of stealing from other teenagers. It had everything to do with the fact that she didn't want to provoke anyone unnecessarily.

Vixen's strategy was to evade rather than attack. With luck, the only tribute she would ever have to kill would be the one standing next to her in the final two. Because of this, she wasn't seeking out any alliances, nor did she want to be in one at all. She didn't want to have blood on her hands from former allies, so she was going to stick to herself, at least until she ran into an enemy.

Vixen decided that she was most likely alone in her current tunnel, so she decided to check over what was in her backpack.

She had gotten some throwing knives from the Cornucopia. Her bag also contained a twenty-ounce water bottle (which was full), iodine for purifying more, and even a bag of pretzels. It was not exactly a feast, but she was used to surviving like this, since she'd been an orphan living on the streets for as long as she could remember. Until she became property of the Capitol once she was reaped for the sixty-third Hunger Games.

 _Property of the Capitol._

Vixen realized something. They told you that you were free from the Hunger Games if you managed to win. Of course, that had never seemed entirely true to Vixen, because victors were still required to mentor other tributes from their district. But now that she thought about it more, she realized that many of the victors had specific personalities that the Capitol always tried to play up. For instance, Janet, the girl from District 1 who had won the previous year, was known for being very artistic with her outfits, and even helped the stylists with their costume ideas. Tailor, the man from District 8 in his thirties, winner of the 41st Hunger Games, was known for being emotionless and antisocial.

At first, she'd thought that this was just a coincidence. After all, everyone had intrinsically different traits, and those differences were what made the world go round. But she'd always been a little suspicious of how _everyone's_ traits were so specific. And it was only when she was wandering in this twisting underworld that she realized: it _was_ made up. Everything was manufactured by the Capitol.

And if that wasn't enough, Vixen, despite being on the complete opposite side of the district from the Victor's Village, had seen the victors from District 6 on the stage, even ones who weren't mentors (of which there were only two). She'd seen how they always seemed to be yellow-skinned bags of bones, addicted to morphling, alcoholics. She had a feeling that it might have been due to the trauma they had endured in the Hunger Games. Post-traumatic stress disorder was a very real thing-sometimes, even Vixen herself had nightmares about fights that she'd witnessed in the streets. And she didn't really want that to happen to her.

Even so, Vixen was going to do her best to win. If life post-Games was not to her liking, she could always find some way or another to commit suicide. But she wasn't in the mood to die right now. That was what continued to drive her down this tunnel, hoping that she could find some water source, anywhere...

* * *

After Bryson's near-fatal fall the previous day, he hadn't been eager to go down any other little tunnels that he had to crawl through, instead sticking to those that were wider, giving him more space to see in advance what was on the other side. Based on this, his options had been severely limited. He'd had to decide, at every fork, which tunnel would be easier to see through than the other one.

Now, Bryson was in a circular tunnel that was striped red and blue, and the floor was a series of red and blue boards he had to step carefully across, from one to the next. He didn't know what was at the bottom of that dark pit, but he strongly suspected that it was far enough down to kill him. After the pipe room (what he'd decided to call the site of what had happened yesterday), he didn't want to take any chances. But he also didn't want to double back in case someone was coming for him.

So he continued making these precarious steps, carefully ensuring that one foot was on one plank, and his other foot on the next one. They alternated red and blue in that order, so Bryson made it a strategy to keep his right foot on a red plank, and his left foot on a blue one. Using this, he hoped that he'd be able to keep his balance, while also not putting too much weight on any one plank.

"I must be crazy" he said aloud.

Instantly, he regretted it. Yes, it might have been a little silly to keep on this tunnel, when he knew how dangerous it was, but he hadn't seen any other choice at the time. But the reason he regretted it was because there might be some risk, however small, that the Careers might be nearby. And he didn't want to take that risk. Bryson might have been many things, including a jokester, but he wasn't suicidal. He was very afraid of death, and for good reason. Because nobody really knew what lay on the other side, and Bryson would rather find out when he was 70 rather than when he was 17. He still had so much life he wanted to live. And the Capitol had taken that from him. These thoughts brought a large sob, welling up in his chest.

But Bryson couldn't cry. He just couldn't. No matter how bad he felt on the inside, he had to keep on the facade of always being happy, always wanting to joke around, even when he didn't feel like it. _Especially_ when he didn't feel like it.

So he just soldiered on, continuing down the path of planks for how long he didn't know, hoping he wasn't seen, while at the same time making sure every step connected with wood. Because if it didn't, it would be the curtain call for the jokester boy from District 10.

* * *

Aurora decided to head back to check her trap. She had only ventured a few hundred yards away, far enough so that she couldn't see whoever had been trapped inside, but also close enough so that she knew the way back. She didn't think that the Gamemakers would be so cruel as to completely change the layout of the labyrinth this early in the Games. That would not be like them. Enough people had died the day before, she thought, that the Capitol audience would be satisfied for now. They wouldn't want the Games to go too quickly. A week or two was the general range that the people enjoyed. Too short, and the people would feel cheated, they'd think that they deserved more Hunger Games than they had gotten. Too long, and it would get boring. Either way, the Head Gamemaker would be at risk of execution. The Games could never get boring, because that was, quite literally, against the law.

Aurora didn't know what she was expecting with how her trap turned out. She didn't know if she could expect to have one tribute ensnared, no success at all, or even the whole Career pack. _Wouldn't that be awesome?,_ she thought to herself, a smile appearing on her face.

But it was not any of those things. Instead, a scrawny Hispanic boy with black hair and a wrench was trapped in the net. A small girl who looked no older than twelve was ensnared right next to him. They both appeared to be very panicked, struggling to get out.

One thing was for certain: These were not Careers. There _weren't_ any twelve-year-old Careers. They almost always waited until they were in the range of sixteen to eighteen years of age. That was the ideal time for them to enter the Hunger Games if they were to have the best chance of winning. Upon closer examination, Aurora realized who the two tributes were.

They were from District 3. The boy's name was Leo, and the girl was Siliconia. Leo was known as the fire guy, while Siliconia had gotten an embarrassing training score of 1 by becoming Panem's tween pop star of the year. And they had both fallen victim to her trap.

"Hey, guys" Aurora said. "I can't believe that you fell for it that easily!"

"Yeah, well, we were running around!" Siliconia said, sounding like a five-year-old. Aurora couldn't help but feel a little bit amused at her tone of voice.

"You could have turned back!" Aurora practically shouted, not caring if the Careers were nearby or not. Maybe she could get all of them trapped. She knew that Elegance was not with them, but she also knew that the other five had to still be alive. No cannons had sounded since the previous night's anthem, and it had to be close to noon by now. The second day in the arena was almost half over. Aurora had survived twenty-four hours.

But that thought just made her feel guilty. After all, she was feeling so smug, having lasted a day, when ten of the twenty-four tributes, a good 41.7%, or five twelfths, had perished. And they had all been teenagers, just like her.

" _Please_ let us out!" Leo said. "I promise to join an alliance with you!"

Aurora wasn't so sure about an alliance. But, after all, she didn't want to kill these little kids. Not right now. And, if she ever needed to, she knew that she was bigger and stronger than either of them, from all of those hours working in the Wheatlands.

Maybe she _could_ work with those two.

"Okay" Aurora said to them.

* * *

Speaking of Elegance, she was still on her own. She still had no food or water, or any other supplies from the Cornucopia.

 _If only I had gotten higher than a six...if only I hadn't passed out in training...if only...if only..._

No matter how many "if-onlys" she thought to herself, it wouldn't affect the dire reality of the situation.

 _If only I wasn't scared of blood...if only that school shooting didn't take place...if only the Peacekeepers..._

She realized where that train of thought was leading. The logical conclusion of that line of track was, _If only the Hunger Games didn't exist...if only the Capitol didn't use such methods._

She hated the Capitol now. It was official. Of course, most of the people in the outer districts hated their overlords with a passion, due to the severe oppression that the Capitol placed upon them. But most of District 1 had never had any real reason to rebel. After all, the Capitol, by Panemian standards, spoiled them. They got vineyards and large, luxurious homes. Not like the ones in the Victor's Village, but still the size of a house in a wealthy American suburb, back when the United States had existed.

Except for Mrs. Wine. Her teacher had always stood for morality above all else, and didn't care that the people of her homeland were so well-off. She wanted the same social justice for the others in her nation. And she had paid for it with her life.

Now, Elegance would most likely be dead within the next week or two. If she wasn't facing long odds before as the weak link of the Career pack, she certainly was now. She didn't have a drop of water, and she was most likely quite dehydrated by now. She had a pounding headache, and all of her movements felt slightly sluggish. Unless she got sponsored water, she'd be dead in a matter of days even _without_ the Careers stalking her. Of course, she didn't know if they'd be able to track her so easily in this maze. But she knew that it certainly didn't help her chances.

Elegance might not have been happy with her lot in life. But she knew that she didn't want her death to happen just yet. She was going to go out swinging, not let that third strike fly right past home plate. And the station for that train of thought was...

 _Please...send something..._

* * *

 **I'm ending it there. I would like to thank Medicine Cat of the Opera, and all of her awesome new-image-ness, for sponsoring the District 3 tributes. That will not affect their chances of winning (either 0% or 100%, I'm not saying** **), but it does help spice up the plot. And I won't approve your gift if you haven't submitted at least three reviews to this story. I might have a small following, but those who do follow me feel very devoted. Thanks, fan club!**

 **Do you notice how even though there was a lot of action in this chapter, no one actually died? What do you guys think of this?**

 **Since this was a busy day for me, you guys should feel lucky that this chapter is up today. With this chapter, by the way, _Labyrinth_ has officially passed _Holes_ by Louis Sachar in word count. But, you know what they say: quantity vs. quality.**

 **I am also putting up a new poll based on who you THINK will win. For those I have told my plan, please either do not vote or vote for someone else, whoever you'd think would win based on what's going on in the story. By my estimates, this** **story is about halfway done. I'll try to make October 31 my deadline, but with school that may be a little difficult.**

 **I think that that is a good length for an author's note. I will close it here.**

 **Until next time, SnowLucario.**


	19. The Beast Inside

**All right, guys. I have a new poll up on who you THINK will win** ** _Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games._** **Currently, Vixen Ford has commanding 33% odds. Will they go up or down? Only time will tell. But I know if it's 0% or 100%, so that's ultimately useless. And three of the fourteen are as good as doomed, because they're my own characters, and despite having a pretty big ego, I wouldn't be so arrogant as to have one of my own tributes win.**

 **Also, a cool story: At my summer camp, there was a kid who read a lot of fanfiction. We discussed some of our favorite stories, like _The Return Of The Cursed Gift, Final Judgment: The 44th Hunger Games,_ and others. Finally, I asked him if he'd read my story about Lucas Weathers, the guy who faints in class after seeing a Celebi. He said he thought so, and then I shocked him by revealing that I was the author. Unlike many other fanfic writers I've interacted with, I have no problems promoting my work in real life. **

**One last thing: this chapter is dedicated to a recently deceased relative. I'm not going to say who, just in case someone _really_ wants to stalk me. If he was still alive, I don't know what he'd think of me writing _Hunger Games_ fanfiction. It's interesting to think about.**

 **Okay, now I've been rambling on far too long. It's time for the story.**

* * *

Conker woke up with a throbbing head. The blinding purple light was far too bright on his eyes, and he had to blink several times before he could make out where he was. He had slept for a long time, he could tell, by the stiffness in his joints and limbs. He could tell that his muscles had just not been used for a while. He wished he could have been able to have access to a clock, just to see _how_ long.

It took Conker several minutes to remember exactly where he was. He was in the Hunger Games. And if he had really been out for as long as he had thought...had he missed the previous night's death recap?

He was pretty sure that was the case. After all, he was in some underground cavern, from which he shouldn't have been able to see the sky, even if he _had_ been conscious. It wouldn't have necessarily been fair to have it so that there were a lot of places where you just couldn't see the death recap from. And, if he really had missed it, that meant that there was absolutely no way Conker could learn who had died the previous day. He had absolutely no awareness of who was still alive. The other tributes, however, could know with absolute certainty that _he_ was still alive.

This thought made Conker feel very vulnerable. After all, the Careers could literally be a hundred yards from him, down just one straight tunnel, and he'd be absolutely defenseless. He was still to hungover to run, as well. Conker felt extremely nauseous, in addition to his pounding headache. Before he could think of anything else, he leaned over and threw up. It was mostly just bile, since he hadn't eaten in, if he was correct, twenty-four hours or so. Until it actually started coming out.

Conker threw up a lot of breakfast food. At least, he _thought_ it was breakfast food. Bagels, pancakes, French toast, apple slices, fruit salad all came out, making a multicolored mess on the ground. It was basically every color except purple, and then Conker realized that it complemented where he was quite well.

Looking around his current room, he noticed that there were purple mushrooms all over the walls, and even some near him on the floor. Conker wasn't hungry, thankfully. He strongly suspected that these mushrooms were deathly poisonous, instincts honed from his life in District 7. These were not benevolent, most likely, considering that this was the Hunger Games. The Gamemakers would not make it that easy for an alcoholic boy from District 7 to find food. Although, Conker thought, even though he'd vomited up much of his breakfast, he'd probably be fine for another day or two, but then he had better hope that he had a sponsor lined up. Which was highly unlikely, considering that he had only gotten a score of 1, quite embarrassing to get, or to sponsor a tribute who had gotten that low of a score.

"Please, guys, send me some food. Or some anti-nausea meds. Please..." he groaned.

Soon, though, Conker was no longer groaning. The reason for that was because he was now throwing up more of his breakfast. He threw up until the last little cube of watermelon was outside his body and covered in mucus. It wasn't a pleasant sight, to say the least.

Conker knew that, unless he could get some food or water in his body, and _keep it down,_ it was highly unlikely that he even had a ghost of a chance in the arena. But he didn't know how he could fix that, other than trying to just keep moving. So, he shakily got to his feet and staggered out of the cavern.

* * *

Aurora had been true to her word.

She'd managed to get Leo and Siliconia out of her spider web of a net, and then they had began to walk together down the tunnels. Leo was annoyingly talkative to Aurora, and she wondered how Siliconia could stand it, all of this constant chatter from Leo Nale.

Even so, she'd tried to make small talk with the two tributes from District 3, who had clearly been very trusting of her. They had trusted her, so she would have to trust them. That was her mindset.

"So...what has been going on with you guys for the last day or so, however long we've been in here?" Aurora asked District 3. It was easy to lose track of time in here, without the sun to guide you. In District 9, you could always see the sky pretty much no matter what.

"Well, we both fled the Bloodbath at first, but I managed to get a wrench" Leo said. The ADHD mechanic was even more disheveled than usual, not a surprise considering that they were in an underground labyrinth. It wasn't like they had had a change of clothes. As Leo mentioned his wrench, he brandished it for Aurora to see. This didn't really scare her, though. She knew that she was a much stronger tribute than either of them, and she could have easily taken them in a fight. But she decided to just stay the way she was, and she could always take on the two tributes from District 3 just in case she ever had to.

"And then", Siliconia said, "Leo saw me cowering on the wall, and he came for me. I thought he was going to kill me".

"But he formed an alliance with you. Clearly, because you haven't killed each other yet" Aurora said. Instantly, she knew that she might have made a big mistake in saying that. Even so, Leo didn't seem too offended.

"It's fine" Leo said. "Actually, I was on the factory floor, and I saw Elegance on the catwalk above me. We couldn't access each other, but it was still pretty jarring to see".

"Elegance Elysia" Aurora said. "So she's really going it alone, isn't she?"

"I guess so" Siliconia said. "Rumor has it that she pricked herself with a mace in her individual training session and passed out, right in front of the Gamemakers. That's why she only got a 6".

"Wow" Aurora said. "That's quite embarrassing, I would think. No wonder that she's not in the Career pack".

In her mind, Aurora was thinking, _Elegance must be_ pretty _skilled with a mace, if she faints at the sight of her own blood and still gets a 6. She just might be a threat._

But, like so many times before, Aurora pushed that thought out of her head. In this maze, you couldn't tell where you were. It was far crazier than Yoshi Valley from _Mario Kart 64._ Not that she'd ever played any video games; it wasn't something people could afford in the Wheatlands. But she'd heard stories from the richer people in 9, the people who actually _could_ become biological engineers.

"I know" Leo said. "But right now, our main priority is to get some food, and find a decent place to camp. Are you up for that, Siliconia?"

"I most certainly am!" Siliconia said. "We need to find some form of safety".

Aurora was about to point out that true safety didn't exist in the Hunger Games, but she didn't think that would be very helpful. Instead, she decided to clarify something for them.

"I've got some food in my bag" she said. "Let's go".

The two younger tributes looked somewhat happier, knowing that they weren't completely helpless. The trio then set off down a dark red tunnel.

* * *

"Hey, Eli, I've gotta tell you something" Horatio whispered in Eli's ear.

"What is it, Horatio?" Eli whispered back.

"Anna's got a fat butt!" Horatio said in a loud whisper.

Eli was getting used to this by now. Ever since the girls had taken charge of the Career pack's supplies, Horatio and Hades (whom Eli had decided to dub the "H-boys" for obvious reasons) had been spewing constant tirades against Anna and Margaret. Eli was getting kind of sick of that. After all, Horatio had the lowest score of the five of them, with a 9, and given that the rest of them all had 10s, except for Hades's 11, he thought that the District 1 boy ought to feel lucky that he was even allowed in the alliance. After all, Horatio's district partner was on her own.

Of course, they had been careful to whisper. If the girls heard what the boys were saying behind their backs, there was no way that the results would be good. Not the way things were going.

"Look, guys, Anna _doesn't_ have a fat butt" Eli said in the quietest voice that would allow the other two boys to hear him. Margaret and Anna were perhaps twenty feet in front of them. If they thought anything was suspicious about the three boys being together, apart from them, they didn't show it. They seemed not to care that the opposite sex outnumbered them.

"I know" Hades said quietly and emotionlessly. "But we just want to make fun of her. It's called _putting someone down,_ and I do it to my girlfriend all the time".

"Wait... _what?_ " Eli asked, this time slightly angrily.

"Yep" Hades said, with a hint of a smile on his olive face. "I've also hit her a couple times. Sophie still loves me, though. She doesn't know that I'm kind of just using her".

Eli was not the most emotional person. When you had a genius-level IQ and was the most renowned child inventor in District 4, that didn't really leave too much room for that. But he was appalled at Hades's casual revelations that he had committed domestic violence against his girlfriend back home. This made him kind of not want to be in an alliance with Hades Blackett anymore.

He wondered if they would be showing Hades saying this right now. If Sophie was watching Hades say that, if his family was, then wouldn't they be _super_ angry at him? That would probably cause them to convince her to break up with Hades, assuming that he became the victor.

Hades kept talking about fights he'd been in with Sophie, during which he had always managed to convince her that she was in a perfect relationship, when in reality very little could be further from the truth, and that only disgusted Eli even more. And that made Eli realize that he couldn't leave this alliance. Not only because it was his best chance at becoming victor, but also because Hades would instantly be able to hunt him down. Eli wouldn't get away with it.

If Eli Trout wanted to win the sixty-third Hunger Games, he'd have to have a different plan.

* * *

Things were going swimmingly for Vair. Quite literally.

He was currently in the middle of a watery tunnel, which he had to wade through. Vair didn't know how to swim, because back at home in District 8, he'd never really had an opportunity to learn. But that wasn't a problem here. This tunnel's water was only four feet deep, and, after a little panic, he'd found that he could slowly walk his way through easily.

With the emphasis on _walk._ Even though Vair was so fast, the water slowed him down. After five minutes of what felt like jogging in slow motion, he was beginning to suspect that the Gamemakers had put this four-foot sump in the ground just to detain him. If the fastest runner in the Games just kept avoiding conflict, that would be boring for the audience. Entertainment of the citizens in the Capitol was always paramount. Right?

That got Vair thinking: Were there any other tributes nearby? Normally, it would be very unlikely, but this _was_ the Hunger Games, and if the Gamemakers wanted to, they could put a nice little sump here to prevent Vair from running away from his enemy. He'd have to face up to this hypothetical other tribute sooner or later. And he got the feeling that this was going to be _sooner_ rather than later. He might have been safe for a while, because the Capitol would most likely not be begging for more bloodshed only a day and a quarter after the Bloodbath. But his grace period was running out fast, and he didn't want to get caught in a trap. Not before he had a plan.

But, before long, he noticed three figures in the distance. They were wading in the opposite direction as he was, and he didn't know exactly what was going on. Were they going to try to kill them? Who were they, for that matter? Would they be willing to negotiate with him, turn a group of three into a group of four? It was definitely a possibility. But Vair decided to reserve judgment on that.

Just in case, though, Vair drew his dagger. He was fully prepared to fight to the death, and he hoped that he was better with a dagger than the Gamemakers thought he was. _You might have given me a two, but I'll show you a_ twelve, he thought to himself, but it was aimed at the Gamemakers for giving him such a low score.

* * *

The alliance of three saw a lone tribute wandering through the sump. Leo was wondering who it was; after all, it was unlikely that they would have found each other here by simple, pure chance. It didn't work that way, not in such a massive, underground maze. And the Capitol must have been especially impatient this year. Normally, the Gamemakers didn't want things to go too quickly, but clearly, the people were unsatisfied with this year's arena. No doubt the Head Gamemaker would be executed; that was just the way things worked in Panem. If the Hunger Games were not exciting about, Johan Bainbridge's head could be on a silver platter.

"Hey, guys, I think that's a tribute!" Leo blurted out somewhat impulsively. The two girls looked at him angrily, shocked that he would have been so foolhardy as to just say that when it could have been a Career out on the prowl. Although it was unlikely, given the theme of this year's arena. They wouldn't have just separated when one or more of them could have easily gotten lost. And it _was_ easy to do here.

"You don't need to be so loud, Leo, but I can see him too" Siliconia said quietly. Aurora, on the other hand, looked grimly determined.

"It's the guy from 8. We need to be careful, because that guy is faster than a motherfucker. We can't outrun him. We've been wading through this stagnant water for over an hour, and he's only fifty yards away from us. We'll have to fight or try to hash out some kind of deal". Aurora said all of this, while still maintaining somewhat clenched teeth.

"Hey, guys!" Vair shouted, "I can see all of you, and I only have one thing to tell y'all: Don't run away from me! I mean you no harm. I want to form an alliance!"

"Bold pronouncement, considering you just _sneak up_ on us like that. I mean, Hephaestus's Hair, Vair!" Leo retorted. "Besides, we have no idea who you really are. Yeah, we know you're Vair Armani, seventeen years old, District 8, training score of _two-"_

"Uh, Leo..." Siliconia began to croak, but her district partner cut her off.

"What I mean is", Leo shouted, "that, _for all we know, you could be plotting to kill all of us in our sleep._ We don't want to take that risk. Right, girls?"

"I think he's genuine, Nale" Aurora said. "I think we can trust this guy. He could easily just kill us all right now. He looks pretty good with a dagger. And he's certainly fast enough".

"I know!" Vair yelled, loud enough that Aurora somehow thought that the Careers could hear him, despite having no idea where the heavily funded band of tributes from 1, 2, and 4 were right now.

She saw no alternative but to allow Vair to be in their alliance now.

"Sure" she said.

Somehow, she felt that she might regret it later, allowing Vair Armani to be a part of the alliance between 3 and 9. But she didn't feel that she had a choice. She'd lost Ted, her own district partner, in the Bloodbath.

Vair Armani was a giant question mark. He was a big, fleet-footed question mark. He'd gotten an embarrassingly low score in training, but still seemed to be holding his own. In that sense, he could be seen as sneaky. Maybe getting a 2 had been his strategy all along, to make people underestimate him and therefore ignore him. People did that.

And yet, Vair also had some very good values as well. He admired education very much, which he should have felt such a great grudge towards, having not been educated himself. He should have been so jealous of those who got to go to school, that it would have just consumed him. And yet he didn't seem to be.

Maybe Vair _could_ be a good ally.

* * *

Wheat was not in a good mood.

Now that he'd had a full day since killing Cam, the guilt was beginning to catch up with him. He kept replaying the scene in his mind, where he had kept using the body of the District 10 girl as a trampoline.

 _Did I have a choice at the time?_ , he thought.

He certainly believed so now; after all, he'd never seen Cam appear that deadly. Maybe she'd have tried to form an alliance with him. To which he still would have said no, he was fine on his own, but still. She probably wouldn't have been trying to kill him immediately. And yet he had still killed her. In such a brutal fashion, too. He'd literally squeezed the life out of her by jumping so hard.

 _I can't live with myself._

That thought shocked him. In District 11, even though life kind of sucked, you never wanted to just _end_ it. You always appreciated what you had, because it was for your own good, as well as that of your friends and family. You always wanted to appreciate the good things in life; the taste of food, the feel of the breeze as it rattled the leaves of the trees in the orchard, the smell of the crops. The tantalizing smell of that which they were not allowed to eat. But that made that seem even better.

 _And I could have just run away, run away, so easily..._

Those thoughts plagued him to no end.

With a heavy heart, he began searching for the end to some tunnel. Maybe he would find a way to...end it.

All of those good things from back home had been taken from him. And why? It wasn't because of Cam. It wasn't even because of the Careers. It was because of the _Capitol._ And he would make them pay.

Yes, Wheat would die. But he wanted it to be on his own terms, not the Capitol's. He wanted to make the choice of when, and how, he would lose his life. He felt that he owed it to everybody back at home, to show that he wasn't just some heartless killer.

Hopefully, he could redeem himself in their eyes.

In Eleven, everything was so tough. The Peacekeepers were so oppressive there, even more so than in other districts, partly because of the sheer importance of food production. But the district didn't get any of it, even though most of them were starving.

It all went to the _Capitol._

 _I'm done,_ Wheat thought angrily. _I'm done playing their stupid Games._

Wheat knew that there were no tributes nearby to her him. And that was _good._ He didn't want to die at the hands of another innocent child, who had had their life torn away from them by the totalitarian government of Panem. But even if there were, that would not have fazed him in the slightest.

Wheat cleared his throat and gave the following speech:

"People of Panem, my name is Wheat Corky, and I'm from District 11. I've had no father, he got killed by the Peacekeepers. The Peacekeepers are evil. The Hunger Games is evil. _Everything_ related to the Capitol is evil. But we can make it better. All I'm asking for is a rebellion. Then, we can finally get the justice we deserve, as was promised to us by our forefathers, who were here when the Hunger Games were established. Teenagers killing each other for the Capitol's amusement isn't _reality competition TV entertainment._ That's called _murder._ And we will make you pay.

"I may not be in a position of power right now, but I've got people back home who are. And I can guarantee that, when they see me on TV, they'll know to act. They'll be determined.

"I know you're probably about to kill me. And that's fine. I'm already checked out of this life anyways. I have been ever since I was reaped for these Games. This won't change that, not that I ever expected anything to. And I hope that my brethren back at home in District 11 can forgive me for killing one Camille Whey of District 10 in such a brutal fashion. For that I am truly sorry, although I know it probably means very little to you.

"So, come on, Capitol. Bite me".

Wheat stopped speaking after that. He knew that he was going to face repercussions for that soon enough. The Capitol _never_ let people get away with even small acts of rebellion like this. He just stood there, wondering what form his punishment would take.

He didn't have to wait long. Soon, there was the sound of a giant being lumbering towards him. Wheat looked around, and gasped at what he saw.

Standing before him was an enormously buff man who must have been ten feet tall. There was no way that that was natural. It _must_ have been a mutt. And Wheat knew why it was here. It was coming for him.

But that wasn't the worst thing about him. The man was wearing a large pair of white briefs, with a Fruit Of The Loom tag on the back that Wheat could see plainly. And even _that_ wasn't the most horrific thing.

For the man had the head of a bull. He looked pissed off, as if Wheat had just woken him from a deep slumber. Which he essentially had. Wheat had always wondered if that was what it had felt like being born; just being deeply asleep, until, suddenly, you weren't. He didn't know, and he would never find out. That was one thing he'd been sure of even _before_ he was forced so cruelly into these Games.

Wheat knew that there was no way he was getting out of this one. The bull-man was very menacing, and he ran faster than Vair Armani when he was confronted by another tribute. Wheat couldn't outrun him, because the tunnel he was in had to go straight for at least another mile, and there was no way in hell that he was going to be able to defeat the bull-man.

So, he just accepted his fate. He stood there, waiting for his painful end. And it did not disappoint.

The Minotaur tore into Wheat with everything the muttation must have had. It would have been exceedingly painful for Wheat, had he stayed conscious for more than ten seconds. And even those ten seconds were excruciating.

The Minotaur didn't stop until Wheat had no head, and the ground was littered with his blood. Then, the Minotaur tossed Wheat's head aside, as if it was a football he was passing to an invisible teammate.

And so Wheat Corky, the boy who had so gruesomely murdered Cam the previous day, was dead.

* * *

 **RIP Wheat**

 **Wheat: This guy was a total bore to write. I was not given nearly enough information about him, and, since it was my first SYOT, I accepted him, simply because I didn't know if I would get any other District 11 males. I'll definitely be far more selective next time. He was actually initially supposed to come in third, but then I dropped him to eleventh, and when I started writing the beginning of his section in this chapter, I realized that this was a good place to end the saga of Wheat Corky. It was nice to have him be a little rebellious in his final minutes, though, and that was what was his downfall. But he said before: he'd already checked out of this world when he was reaped. Also, I liked introducing the Minotaur. I promise you'll see more of him. :)**

 **Okay. I no longer know how long this is going to be. I definitely want to make it 100,000 words or longer. I mean, I want to have something that's longer than an actual _Hunger Games_ book. With this chapter, though, it does eclipse _Bounding Through Time_. I think this story is close to 64,500 words now, a little more than _BTT's_ 62,863. This chapter in itself is well over four thousand words, not as long as the last one. It's _definitely_ not as long as Chapter 12, which is nearly twice this! But it's still a respectable length, I think.**

 **Anyway, school is kicking in, limiting my time. I still hope to finish this by mid-October. I AM probably going to be able to write over 3,000 words a day on weekends if I really want to. I can definitely do 7,000 in a week. And 110,000 is my rough guideline. So there's that.**

 **I have submitted three tributes to my upcoming SYOT, with no known title yet. Soon, I will put up a poll on what you want it to be, which will also determine the theme of the arena. So take this poll VERY SERIOUSLY!**

 **With that, SnowLucario is out. In fact, he's about to work out.**


	20. Big Badass Breakfast Buffet

**All right. It's time to write Chapter 20. I have now put up a poll on what you'd like the arena to be in the 64th Hunger Games. In case you guys have any questions about what each arena is, here are the list of arenas that I am open to writing:**

 **City Of Danger is based off of Boston.**

 **Deep Darkness is based on the swamp area in** ** _Earthbound._**

 **Lorax is based on the Dr. Seuss book (duh).**

 **Water World is a non-tropical archipelago.**

 **Red Yankee Sox is the area around a small New England town.**

 **Lost Underworld is a large underground landscape (with a sun, though) with dinosaur mutts.**

 **I deleted "Level Up" from the poll because I realized that it would be far too difficult to write. In that one, tributes would gain experience from battling muttations, and then level up and get stronger. I don't feel like keeping track of everything.**

 **I don't know how being aware of what each prospective arena is will affect the poll. So far, only two votes have come in (well, there was one for Level Up), both for City Of Danger.**

 **Anyway, it's time to continue the story!**

* * *

Elegance didn't know what to make of the cannon.

She wondered if it was one of her fellow Careers. She thought it unlikely, but it was always possible. It wasn't likely that a lone tribute would kill one Career, and then the rest would flee. That wasn't Horatio's style, Elegance presumed, judging by his obnoxiously arrogant behavior in the Capitol.

But she tried not to let herself care who, specifically, it was. It hadn't been too long since someone had died, even before that. The people in the Capitol must have been injected with pure caffeine, because only that would seem to explain why they were clearly so impatient for these Games to be over. And when that happened, the Gamemakers _had_ to oblige, because it was their job to keep the citizens of the Capitol entertained. Maybe that meant they'd send something against her...

 _No._ Elegance tried to get that thought out of her head. Surely, even the hyper-excited people of the Capitol would be sated seeing her dying of dehydration right here. Well, she wasn't _dying,_ not yet, but she hadn't drunk any water, or anything else, for almost a day and a half. Only a couple more days of this, and she would be a parched sack of bones. Elegance shuddered at the thought.

It had to be almost time for the anthem by now, although she might have been losing track of the hours.

She again wondered why, of all the arenas she could have been thrust into, fate had to send her into this cruel underground labyrinth. She positively rued the day that she had volunteered. To be stuck here like this, when she could have just stayed living her luxurious life in District 1! What was the worst thing that could have happened there? Felt guilty for not avenging Olivia?

Elegance had always thought that, in order to give your life for someone you loved, you had to die. Now, though, she knew that she was wrong. She had to _live._ She had to live her life well in spite of Olivia's death. And she was doing her deceased sister a great disservice by throwing away her life just like this.

 _Oh, Olivia, I'm failing you, aren't I? I thought I was doing what you would have wanted-I volunteered for the Hunger Games. I thought I_ _would have a chance, but I don't. It doesn't look like it right now, anyway. I hope that, if you're up there somewhere, you can forgive me._

She felt immeasurably guilty for this. She was disrespecting her sister's memory! She had never felt worse in her whole entire life. Not even when Olivia had _actually_ died five years back.

She'd remembered being allowed to view the body, which had returned to District 1 in a simple wooden box. Olivia's face had been made up, and she was adorned in a beautiful purple dress, much like the one Elegance had worn in the chariot ride, to make her look pretty. But it just made everything more hideous.

And now, Elegance knew, she would most likely follow in her sister's footsteps, just like this. And she only had herself to blame, for being so fucking stubborn.

But did she have any other choice? She'd wanted to follow in Janet's footsteps. Two consecutive female victors from District 1 would be pretty awesome, wouldn't it?

 _I hate my life._

* * *

As the hours went by, the tributes had scattered further into the tunnels of the labyrinth. Now, though, Claudius Templesmith had something else to get people excited about. At what Vixen estimated was about eight in the evening, judging by the sky above her that was beginning to darken, his voice came on for her, and probably everyone else as well, to hear.

"Hello, tributes. It's me, Claudius Templesmith. As you probably know, one of your fellow tributes died a couple of hours ago. I'm not saying who, you'll just have to wait another hour to find out. Assuming you survive that long, that is".

Vixen was offended by how casually Claudius just said, _Assuming you survive that long._ He didn't really seem to care that he was taking part in the slaughter of twenty-three innocent adolescents.

"I'd suggest bedding down right now, because in five minutes, a golden tunnel is going to appear right next to where you are currently, because we can track you guys, you know? And the reason for this...is that there is going to be a feast tomorrow morning, at 7:00 AM. It is currently 8:00 PM. An eleven-hour timer will appear on your heads, to tell you when to get moving.

"The tunnel will lead two miles down to the Cornucopia, which is where the feast will take place. There will be some delicious food there, so please come and enjoy!"

 _Like I'm going to go,_ Vixen thought.

She'd always been thinking about this, just in case she was ever reaped for the Hunger Games. And she had decided, unequivocally, that she _would not attend_ any feasts that were announced. That would just be suicide, unless you were going to die soon from dehydration or starvation, in which case here was no reason not to go. But Vixen's position right now was pretty good. She wasn't in any imminent danger of running out of supplies. And so, she knew that she was going to simply stay where she was. Let them kill each other. That was Hannah "Vixen" Ford's strategy.

* * *

The Careers were bedding down for the night, just as Caesar had suggested. They had taken a vote earlier on whether or not they would attend the feast.

"I say yes" Hades had said. "We didn't get _quite_ as many as we could have yesterday, and this will definitely give us a chance to get some other tributes. And get some more food, too".

Hades didn't explicitly say it, but everyone present was aware that he was really thinking bitterly about how the girls were running the show so much.

"I agree with Hades" Horatio said. "We want to hunt down more little tribbies, and we want to show that we're better than them. Especially me, though".

The other Careers looked at Horatio, slightly put out by his arrogance. But they didn't have much else to say, either. They were just waiting for the votes of Margaret, Anna, and Eli.

"I vote yes" Margaret said.

"Me too" Anna said.

"Me three" chimed in Eli.

"I guess we're doing it, then" said Eli. "Let's just hope that we can get some _real_ food, not just this crap. If everything goes as planned, we'll be eating well tomorrow night!"

No one could argue with that. And so, it was decided. Tomorrow, the Careers would be going back on the prowl at the Cornucopia.

* * *

Bryson wasn't going to attend the feast. His stomach was howling, and he wished that he could just tell it to shut up. He had a lot more hunger ahead of him, and it might get even worse if he had a feast after two days of this near-starvation. But he might go almost all of the way down his tunnel, just in case he could maybe watch the bloodshed from the sidelines. He didn't know if this was wise, but he didn't care. He just wanted more information than he might be able to get, just like this.

Soon, though, the anthem would begin. Then, he'd find out who the cannon of approximately 5 PM was for.

* * *

The two boys in the outer district alliance both wanted to attend the feast, while the two girls didn't. They didn't want to break up the alliance over it, though.

"I mean, we're pretty hungry right now" Vair said. "I don't know about you guys, but I could use some food in my stomach. That would make it a whole lot easier to survive. After all, these are called the _Hunger_ Games. If we can try to stave off the hunger, then maybe, just maybe, we can win this game".

"There can only be one winner" Aurora said sadly. "I wonder, when do you guys think we should separate? I don't want to kill you guys, even if we eventually find out that we're the last four remaining. That would not be a pleasant experience. So, when? You think final nine or so?"

"Yeah, nine sounds good" Leo said. "I read a book in which there was a mechanical cabin nine. And they forged weapons, and they were demigods, and they went to a camp _for_ demigods, and they built a massive dragon! They flew the dragon across the U.S.! And then, they built a massive trireme, and sailed across the Atlantic!"

The other three members of the alliance all looked at each other, thinking _Leo's going crazy._

"Well, guys", Vair said, "looks like the anthem's starting. Let's talk about this more later".

And, indeed, it was. The tributes leaned back and watched, in order to find out who it was that had died four hours ago.

It was Wheat. His gaunt face appeared in the sky, showing everyone just how malnourished the citizens of District 11 were. That was all. There were still thirteen tributes left in the labyrinth. But, tomorrow night, there would likely only be twelve or fewer. Feasts always resulted in fatalities. Not always more than one, but it seems highly unlikely that everyone who attended the feast would make it out alive. That just wasn't what a feast meant, not in the Hunger Games at least.

After the anthem ended, the stalemated discussion of whether or not they should go to the feast continued. It seemed that everyone in the group had something to say about why they should, or should not, take the two-mile trek to an inevitable battle at the Cornucopia.

"I still think that we need to try _something_ to better our odds" Vair said. "Yeah, we might die, but better to go out swinging than to let the third strike fly right by home plate, right?"

"I don't know, Vair" Siliconia said. "It's kind of risky, and a bad idea as well. You can bet that the Careers will be there. It's five against four, and they're much better equipped than we are. There's just no way".

"I have to agree with Siliconia" Aurora said. "The risks are just too great. I don't know if the Careers will be doing it just to kill us, but I know that they won't be there just to get some more food. That's just not their style. I've been forced to watch year after year of Hunger Games, so I know what I'm talking about. Going to the feast is rarely beneficial for non-Career tributes".

"But I'm just not willing to stay here!" Leo said. "If there's even a chance that we can better our chances at winning these Games, shouldn't we do everything possible to ensure that that happens? And, if everything goes wrong and we all die, then at least we'll die surrounded by each other, knowing that we _tried._ Isn't that important to you guys?"

Aurora was beginning to see Leo's side. He and Siliconia had been struggling around for over a day with no food except for what she had provided them with. They were desperate. They were willing to do whatever it took to get more food in their mouths.

Siliconia still didn't look pleased. However, Aurora now knew that she wanted to go to the feast, and Siliconia's opinion wouldn't matter now that three of the four of them wanted to go.

"We're going" Aurora said.

" _Excuse_ me?" Siliconia hissed at the District 9 girl.

"We have to" Aurora said again. "We'd be stupid not to. It's our best chance at winning these Games. The way I see it, we're either going home or we're going to heaven. Where I'm from, the Wheatlands in District 9, a lot of people have faith in these sorts of things. I think there's a good chance that there's something after we die. And, whatever it is, I'm hoping that it's better than this".

And that was that. The alliance of Aurora, Leo, Siliconia, and Vair were going to go to the Cornucopia tomorrow. It would be the Careers who would have their work cut out for them.

* * *

Elegance wished that she could have attended the feast, but she didn't think that it would be wise. The Careers no doubt were going to be there, and she didn't want to just turn up in front of them. That would be embarrassing, and would be likely to get her killed.

So, instead, she would stay here and hope that Wheat's death was enough to make the Careers not go after her right at this moment. She didn't know if the Careers had been responsible for his demise, but she thought that was probably the case. In any case, it didn't matter. What mattered now was survival.

Elegance had finally been sponsored some water, though. Well, not _water_ itself, but a water bottle and a small bottle of iodine for purifying any she had come across. In this maze, she didn't think that it would be too hard to find some form of stagnant water, somewhere. She'd heard that water treated with iodine tasted bad, but she didn't care, as long as it saved her from death by dehydration. Her movements were already feeling sluggish, and she had a pounding headache that she just couldn't shake. She wondered if it would be a good idea to go to sleep now. She _would_ wake up in the morning, almost certainly. But even so, what if she didn't have the strength to get moving again? That was a horribly terrifying, although very real, possibility.

Elegance thought of an idea, though. She'd walk around for an hour, searching for a water source. If so, she would begin treating and drinking right away. If not, then she'd just go to sleep and hope that when she woke up again, she would be able to carry on.

* * *

Conker was not going to go to the feast. He knew that he wasn't nearly fast enough to escape, and it just wasn't worth it. He'd always known he didn't have a chance in these Games, since he was an alcoholic. And the announcement of the feast felt like a massive punch to the gut, which was not too much of a stretch considering what he was currently going through.

Conker's hangover had not completely abated. Even now, he felt extremely nauseous and dizzy. He knew that he was going to throw up if he didn't sit down right now. He also still had a pounding headache that only Tylenol was likely to help. Of course, as he had reflected many times before, no one would sponsor him, ever.

The only thing Conker could do was settle down, ponder Wheat's death, and allow himself to sink into another deep, black, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The Vice Head Gamemaker was very satisfied with what was going on.

In fact, the VHG had been the person to authorize the feast. The young man had seen the two alliances of four or more, and noticed a great opportunity for a battle between the two of them. And he was _young._ This Vice Head Gamemaker was only seventeen years old, as a matter of fact.

On his summer vacation before his senior year of high school, he'd been given the opportunity to become the Vice Head Gamemaker. He had had a red-eye flight in the hovercraft here, in order to place the feast table in the central cavern of this arena. Everything had to go according to plan.

So the VHG had flown to District 9 in the early hours of the third morning of the 63rd Hunger Games. And he was now ready to set up the picnic table.

They'd flown the food in from the Capitol, and the VHG, whose real name was Alistair Enfield, was helping place it all on the feast table. It could only be an hour or two from sunrise, which was when the feast was going to be ready. That was Alistair's plan.

Enfield, as well as the people who had flown him here, set the table with a stack of twelve plates, so that it would be like a game of musical chairs. Whoever was left without a plate would probably go batshit crazy and kill the others. Of course, that wasn't how feasts went. It wasn't as though these 13 adolescents, who had been trying to kill and evade each other for the last two days, would just agree to amicably share such a lavish meal together.

 _They'll have to fight for it,_ he said, licking his lips. He wished that he could have eaten some of this scrumptious buffet himself. Because he had the metabolism of Maximum Ride, he wouldn't need to worry too much about calorie count, and stuff like that. But unfortunately, it was for the tributes only.

Even so, Enfield and the others placed an array of food that you might find at an extremely fancy breakfast buffet around the table. When he was done, Alistair looked around to admire his work.

It was something that these tributes would, quite literally, die for. At the center of the table was a large stack of pancakes, with jars of syrup surrounding it, like parapets around a castle. Other dishes were arranged around it like a clock, on a large, circular table with a crimson red cloth, with mustard yellow trimming. The plates themselves, as well as the platters the food was on, were indigo in color. That was a great color scheme for this meal, Enfield thought.

The platter at the twelve o'clock position was all kinds of melon. Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, purplish-pink melon that they had in the Capitol...you name it, they had it covered.

The one o'clock platter contained bagels. Not just _any_ bagels. These were _Breugger's_ bagels, Alistair's favorite type. They were boiled, New York-style, before they were served. The headquarters of the company that made them were in District 8, and Alistair had always wanted to go there. _Forget it, Alistair. You have work to do. You need to admire how awesome you are._

The two o'clock platter held three magnificent apple pies, a good foot in diameter each. They were warm out of the oven, too, or at least genetically engineered that way in the Capitol, which Enfield strongly suspected.

The three o'clock platter held a basket with rolls from all twelve districts, which were also hot off the press.

The four o'clock platter held a massive bowl of scrambled eggs, seasoned with pepper and other spices. It all looked good, except that Alistair didn't much like eggs. In fact, he hated them, except when they were used in baking. Then, they were okay.

At five o'clock, the platter held various pastries, including scones, tarts, and strudel. It all looked very good, and Enfield again wished that it wouldn't all be wasted on tributes who would most likely be dead within the next week.

The six o'clock platter held sausages, bacon, and ham. Basically, it was the meat table. Alistair wondered if he should have had that at the 10:00 position for District 10, but he had made his bed and now he had to lie in it. That was one of his favorite sayings.

At 7:00, there was a large basket of apples, oranges, pears, and bananas. Alistair wondered if they would use them as weapons against each other. If you really wanted to, you could use a banana as a club, couldn't you? _Wouldn't that be EPIC if it happened?_ he thought.

At 8:00, there was a bowl of muffins. Lemon poppy seed, chocolate, blueberry, cranberry banana, pumpkin...you name it, they had it.

The 9:00 platter? That one was the "hot drinks" platter. This one held hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. Maybe the coffee would perk up Leo. According to the latest telecast, the hyperactive mechanic from District 3 would be attending.

Ten o'clock was the "cold drinks" platter, with apple juice, orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and normal pitchers of water. It all looked very well and good, except that Enfield couldn't drink any of it.

And finally, at 11:00, there was yogurt. Why the tributes would waste their time with this, Enfield couldn't imagine. He hated yogurt.

As Alistair Enfield, this high school student who was now the Vice Head Gamemaker, admired his display, something lit up in his ocean-colored eyes. He cruelly faced the lightening sky, ready for anything that was going to happen in these Games.

 _This is going to be amazing._

* * *

Horatio couldn't sleep.

He was far too excited for the feast coming up. He'd finally get to show some of these other tributes who was boss. Despite falling victim for Leo's trip wire back in the factory room, his pride hadn't been hurt. Not in the least. Instead, Horatio Jewel only felt one change in his attitude that had come from the incident, and that was his anger.

Horatio now had a great grudge against Leo Nale and Siliconia Bradley. If they were present at the feast, which was likely given how stupid they were, he'd go directly after them, because fuck a fancy meal when there were other innocent children to kill!

Not only that, but Horatio was still pissed at the girls for controlling their food supply. That was not the right way to do things. After all, there was one important rule these people needed to know: Anything that Horatio Jewel suggested was the best possible idea, because he was awesome and you were not. That was just the way it worked. At least, the way he thought it _should_ work.

Who did he hate more, Leo or Siliconia? That was a difficult question to answer. It had only been two days, but how the fuck were either of them still alive right now?

Leo was a boy mechanic with ADHD. Horatio didn't see how you could reconcile those two things. In other words, when you're a mechanic, and yet you're also jittery with your hands, something's gotta give.

Siliconia was an annoying little twelve-year-old. Sure, she was a good pop singer, but being able to sing "Wings" wouldn't suddenly cause her to sprout those very things and fly away from combat. And she'd gotten a pitiful 1. There was no way she should have survived this long.

Eventually, Horatio decided to go down to the feast by himself. He was too good for these other Careers. They could meet him there, at the feast. Or else...

He'd go down there, eat his fill, and then come back through the two-mile tunnel that had appeared next to him. Then, he'd go back to the Cornucopia with the other Careers, and pretend he had never left.

It was a risky idea, but Horatio felt brave enough to do it. After all, he was too amazing for that plan to fail. That was what he kept telling himself.

Just when he was about to leave, he realized that he had woken Eli up. The District 4 boy was a light sleeper, he realized. Hades tended to sleep like someone in his namesake's realm-that is, like the dead.

"What are you doing?" Eli asked Horatio in an accusatory tone.

"Just preparing to go to the feast" Horatio said back, in an extremely casual voice, as if he was saying that he was going to get a snack.

"It's not for another hour" Eli said.

"I know" Horatio said. "I'm just making sure that I have everything ready. After all, I don't know who will be there to combat us, and I'm going to kill them. We need to cut down those numbers of little tribbies".

"I agree" Eli said. Then, Horatio decided to make an outlandish suggestion.

"If all of us survive the feast, should we just rebel against the girls?" asked Horatio. He hoped that Eli would agree with his idea. After all, these girls were negatively impacting the overall morale of the group. And anything he suggested was automatically the best possible idea for the group.

"I don't know if that's smart, Horatio" Eli said. "That'll probably be the disbandment of the Career alliance, when that happens. And there are still eight other tributes somewhere in the maze. We don't know if there's any other alliances out there or not. I think that we should try to cut some of those down before we separate".

Horatio was conflicted. He was so arrogant that he didn't see that Eli was far smarter than him.

"We'll see, Trout" he said, a malicious grin spreading across Horatio's brain, but he was careful not to let Eli see it.

* * *

"This could be the last morning of our lives" Aurora said. "I hope you guys are happy" she said, glaring at Leo and Vair.

Of course, it had been their idea to attend the feast. But she had _agreed_ with them. And, in doing so, she might have signed all of their death warrants.

But, like Leo said, better to die with full bellies, or at least _trying_ _to attain_ full bellies, than to go out from starvation, just like that. Besides, maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that they could off one or more of the Careers. This gave them some hope that it was maybe not suicidal to attend the feast.

Only Siliconia had not been convinced by her district partner. She sat apart from the rest of them, brooding. She wasn't a fast runner like Vair, desperate and eager like Leo, or easily convinced as Aurora. She wasn't a good fighter, and she knew it. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to be her last day in this world.

"So...anything you want to tell us about what it's like back in your district?" Vair asked. The Indian boy valued education very highly, all of them knew that. He wanted to find out more about some of those other districts before he went down to the feast. If he was going out, at least he wanted to go out _educated._

"Well, District 3 is the electronics district, as you're no doubt aware. I always helped my mom in her machine shop, ever since I was four. But it's a dangerous job. I've been, quite literally, playing with fire my whole life".

"But...you're so ADHD" Vair said. "How do you manage to be so good with your hands as to be that awesome at machinery?"

"I don't know" Leo replied. "It's weird...it's like I'm hard-wired for working with mechanical stuff. That's the only thing in which attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder doesn't really have an effect on me. I'm even better at it than my mother".

"Interesting" Vair said, absorbing that interesting flow of information. "What about you, Siliconia?"

Siliconia reluctantly told her story.

"The odds weren't in my family's favor from the beginning. I've got three older sisters, and we're not rich. We all took out tesserae this year, and we had a total of a hundred and twelve entries in the reaping bowl".

Aurora said in response to that, "Those odds are _definitely_ not in your favor".

"Yeah" Siliconia said. "But, here's the worst part: All of my older sisters were still eligible. They saw their little sister get reaped for the Games, _knowing_ that I had the least chance out of all of them of winning...and _not one of them lifted a finger to volunteer!_ Like, I'm your youngest sister. Maybe, if Stella or Sally or Siobhan had been in these Games instead, _they might have had a chance at coming home._ Like, seriously, why throw away your youngest's life like that?"

Siliconia finished her rant. Aurora was very sympathetic. "That sucks. If you win, I'm guessing you won't want anything more to do with them".

"Yeah, as far as I'm considered, they're not my family anymore. Just a couple of teenage girls that I used to live with" Siliconia sobbed a little when she was finished speaking.

"We're your family now" Leo said. "Vair Airmani, Aurora Biolus, and Uncle Leo!"

"Wait... _Airmani?_ " Vair said somewhat angrily at Leo.

"Yeah, because you're such a fast runner, it would seem like you're lighter than air" Leo explained, still grinning like a maniac.

Vair didn't look too happy at Leo for saying this, but he managed not to go completely insane. He'd only been with Leo Nale for less than a day, and if he had to endure this for too long, he'd probably run the risk of losing his sanity. This would probably only be accelerated by their current locale, a massive, sprawling underground maze that would probably be the catacombs that were Vair Armani's final resting place.

Vair forced himself to listen to Leo.

"And you, Aurora, the reason I called you that is because you told me that you wanted to be a biological engineer. Why was that, again?"

Aurora didn't seem to mind being asked this again. After all, Siliconia and Leo had been very open with what went on down in District 3, so she didn't mind sharing her life story.

"The reason I wanted to be a biological engineer has to do with the fact that I grew up in the poorest part of District 9, the Wheatlands. It's where a lot of people, until a few weeks ago including myself, work long hours in the field, cutting wheat. I didn't want to be one of those nameless, starving masses, and I wanted to help feed the other people in 9. So I wanted to be a biological engineer.

"Things weren't always easy growing up. I had to put in tesserae every year. I have two younger brothers, Dax, who's fifteen and helps us in the hay fields, and Trac, who is four and causes hell for my mother. I've also got a sister named Sable, who's 7. This meant that I had forty-nine entries in the reaping bowl this year".

"That's a lot" Leo said. "I only had twelve, but that seemed to be enough for me. I mean, I got reaped".

"Yeah" Aurora said. "And now, my hopes are dashed. Unless I win, but even then, the Capitol might not allow me to do that. They always seem to have the victors take on different personalities. I don't think that I want that".

"I know" Vair said. The two of them had mainly been talking to each other, to the point that they had almost forgotten that the District 8 boy was even present.

"So, Vair, what's in like in Eight?" Aurora asked him, trying to keep what could possibly be the last conversation that the four of them shared together going for as long as possible.

"Well, I've got a sister named Velvet, and I took out for tesserae. A total of thirty entries in that reaping bowl. It seems like I was that unlucky. Also, I'm not very educated, but she is. _Clearly,_ my parents favored her over me. That's just not that fair! But I still love Velvet. We often go on runs together around District 8".

"I've heard District 8 is extremely urban" said Aurora. "In that respect, it's pretty much the opposite of District 9".

"Yeah" Vair said. "We've got to be careful every time, because we don't want to get hit by any cars. It's still very rewarding, though".

"I know" said Siliconia. Everyone else had practically forgotten that she was there, since she hadn't spoken for a very long time.

"It's time to go to the feast" Leo said. "Uncle Leo's going to give you the speed you need!"

* * *

Alistair Enfield had a team with specialist excavating equipment carefully lower the feast table to the area right next to the Cornucopia. It was by now 6:31 AM, and the sun was up over 9. The table descended sixty feet down into that Cornucopia cavern, before coming to a halt.

Enfield looked back down through the window at the top of the cavern.

 _This is going to be amazing. I can't wait._

* * *

 **And that's it. I was going to make this a much longer chapter, with the feast also in here, but then I realized that this was probably long enough for you guys. And the final chapter is going to be a word feast. I'm thinking that the victor's interview, life back in the winner's district, and then the Victory Tour and visit from President Snow will all be in the same chapter. Back when the feast was also going to be in this chapter, I was going to entitle it "The Word Feast", but now it's not really that.**

 **Anyway, SnowLucario is out for now. Be sure to vote in my poll, and review. Also, submissions for the 64th Hunger Games are still open! As of 7:03 PM Eastern Time on September 2, 2016, first place is "City Of Danger" with three votes, and the only other one with a vote is "Water World", which was actually me.**

 **Good night, guys!**


	21. Food Fight

**I noticed that I told the story about the kid at camp recognizing me twice. Oh well.**

 **Today is a good day. I now have 75 reviews on** ** _Labyrinth,_** **which is just awesome. I want to pass 100 by the time the story is over. I think we can do it!**

 **Also, you'll notice that there is a new cover to this story. It's pretty bad, but I think it looks creepy and haphazard, and that fits in very well with this story. If anyone has any fan art for this story, or** ** _Bounding Through Time,_** **I'll probably fawn all over it forever. I'm now on DeviantArt, by the way, under the name SnowLucario.**

 **I also got my first submission for the 64th Hunger Games. He's from ThomasHungerGamesFan (who created Apollo, who came in 23rd, and Margaret, who is still fighting), his name is Garnet Golds, and he's from District 1. He'll be fun to write for sure.**

 **Also, while we're on the subject of the next SnowLucario Hunger Games, here are the current poll results:**

 **First place: City Of Danger with 3 votes**

 **Tied for second place: Deep Darkness, Lorax, and Water World with one vote each**

 **Tied for fifth place: Lost Underworld and Red Yankee Sox with no votes yet.**

 **Without further ado, let's get to the story. You know that you want to know how the feast is going to turn out!**

* * *

As the Careers walked down the tunnel towards the feast, Horatio was constantly chatting about how they were going to completely own any other tributes at the feast.

"I mean, really, I'm the best ever, and everyone knows that! I'm going to win the Hunger Games, and I'm going to make my family proud, as well as the rest of the district!"

Margaret thought that Horatio was far too excited about his prospects of winning these Games. After all, there were still thirteen tributes left, including four others in the Career pack. The disbandment of the Careers was rarely peaceful. Usually, one or two, or more, of them died when they separated from each other. That was just the way this went.

Horatio Jewel was an arrogant fool, and Margaret swore to herself that the first chance she got, she was going to leave the Careers. She wished that she could have killed Horatio in his sleep, but the cannon was likely to wake the other Careers up, and Margaret wouldn't want that. She still needed the Career alliance for a little longer in order to win the Games.

The feast tunnel was actually quite fancy. A crimson rug with mustard yellow trim led up to the Cornucopia. Since it was a constant, but gradual, uphill gradient, it didn't take long for Margaret to become a little short of breath. But she kept on. She didn't know how far two miles would feel, but it wasn't as easy as she had thought. The rug under their feet made it a little harder to continue plodding onwards, especially since the Careers were trying to jog up there, in order to get there first.

Eli seemed to be struggling the worst of all, still suffering from two bad nights of sleep. Margaret realized that part of this was because she and Anna had hoarded both of the sleeping bags they had gotten in the Bloodbath. She didn't really feel that bad for this. Even though they _were_ in a large alliance, this was, make no mistake, very much an individual game. There was only going to be one victor, and Margaret wanted that to be her.

"How much further?" Anna gasped as they rounded another corner, jogging in order to reach the Cornucopia by seven.

"I don't know" Hades said. The boy from District 2 was having no trouble at all, because he was in better shape than either of the girls or Eli. Horatio was also doing pretty well, considering that he hadn't eaten yet.

"I sure hope we get there soon" Eli said.

Over the last two days, the others had noticed that Eli Trout did not have that much stamina. He couldn't go for long periods of running, and he'd probably be utterly exhausted by the time they reached the feast, and therefore probably not too useful in the second Bloodbath that would most likely occur there. Margaret didn't know if she had too much faith in the boy. _How the hell did he get a ten?_

"Shut up, Trout" Horatio said. "We'll get there when we get there, and we won't get upset!"

Margaret looked at Anna. _Horatio Jewel, the voice of reason?_ they both wondered at each other, each of them somehow knowing what each other was thinking.

Soon enough, though, the guided tunnel ended, and the Careers found themselves in a large cavern with a horn in the middle. The Cornucopia. That was what they were looking at, something they hadn't seen in two days, ever since leaving that cavern. This arena was cruel.

But they didn't dwell on it for too long. A large table of food was set up at the entrance, and the Careers would need to be quick in order to take what they wanted.

* * *

At the same time as the Careers reached the cavern, the outer district alliance was rounding the Cornucopia. The two groups caught each other's glances, and then they looked at what was up for contention.

A magnificent breakfast buffet feast lay on the feast table, which had the same color scheme as the tunnel they'd just jogged through. Fruits, pies, bagels, muffins, eggs, sausages, bacon, ham, hot drinks, and cold drinks were all laid out, with twelve chairs around the twelve platters of food, arranged like a clock. If the melon table was at 12:00, then the seat to its right (or left, if you were actually sitting in it), was at 12:30. But something bothered Aurora about this whole setup. It was as if the Gamemakers were just expecting the tributes to dine peacefully at this table, as if they hadn't been trying to kill each other for the last forty-five hours. It was just not realistic, and the people in the Capitol just wanted it for entertainment.

That was more proof, if any had been needed in the first place, that this was all for the sake of the people in the utopian city that was the seat of Panem's oppressive government. This thought made Aurora feel sick to her stomach, which wasn't helped by the fact that a lavish breakfast buffet was lying in front of her.

The two alliances stared daggers at each other. Eli and Anna looked angrily at Leo and Siliconia, as if they were thinking, _How dare you also turn up at the feast?! It's for us!_

The tension in the air was so thick, even a knife might not have been sufficient to cut it. Finally, Leo was the first one to speak up.

"How is this going to work? Are we going to fight, and then the winners eat, or are we going to eat and then fight? Or will we fight _while_ eating? The mental image of one of you with a sword in one hand and a muffin in the other..." Leo was trying not to laugh at the end of that last sentence. Vair, Aurora, and Siliconia, as well as the Careers, were all looking at him with a funny expression. It was as if they were deciding to ignore the great divide between alliances, and considering just all going after the scrawny Hispanic kid.

"I don't see how that would work" Eli said. Considering the guy had an IQ of 176, Leo knew that he must have been thinking pretty hard about that. And Leo had really been joking when he'd asked how the feast was going to be played out. He'd always known that the only realistic scenario was going to be that they would all fight it out, and then the winners would dine.

Eli was good at battle calculations, and right now, as he brandished his machete, it looked like the four-person alliance from Districts 3, 8, and 9 was going to simply going to be cut down by the Career alliance. And then, Eli would get to eat his fill of what was on the table. He was already licking his lips, hardly able to wait.

And then, Anna made the first move. She picked up an apple pie and heaved it at Vair. It hit him squarely in the face, making him look like he'd just dunked his head in the apple mixture.

There was no way he could see very easily. But, to their surprise, Vair laughed. "Thanks for the pie!" he yelled, licking his face.

Siliconia decided to retaliate. She was picking up bagels and tossing them underhanded, as if she was playing a carnival game. One of them landed on Hades's nose. The boy sneezed, and it fell off. The younger girl had only managed to make him angry. Hades was running to get Siliconia, axe in hand, when he suddenly got hit in the head with something big. Something hard and metallic.

When Aurora saw what had just happened, she laughed aloud. The scene was just too hilarious.

Margaret Malachi had evidently thrown the bowl of fruit salad. She'd been intending to hit Siliconia or Leo with it, but instead she'd hit her own ally and district partner, Hades Blackett, squarely in the head. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Margaret looked embarrassed at the big mistake she had just made.

Now was Aurora's chance to take out one of the strongest physical competitors in these Games. She took out one of her throwing knives and approached the stunned boy. But Horatio was ready. He threw himself on top of his ally, protecting him. And with Horatio's sword, there was no way Aurora could get to Hades. She gritted her teeth and decided to switch to a more accessible target. She looked around, and decided on Anna.

Aurora threw a knife at Anna, but she was expecting it, and ducked out of the way just in the nick of time. Eli wasn't quite as lucky. When Anna had moved out of the way, she'd exposed her district partner, much like a skewer in a game of chess.

The knife hit Eli squarely in the head. He didn't have a chance as it pierced his brain. His genius brain that had come up with inventions to help in the fishing industry. He was no more, and a cannon fired to lament this.

This just riled Horatio even more. He threw himself off of Hades and moved towards Aurora, leaving his ally completely defenseless. Thankfully, none of the other people from the outer districts had been too focused on Hades, who was just beginning to stir. Instead, Horatio's movement had gotten their attention. Aurora swiveled around ninety degrees and threw a knife at Horatio.

However, Horatio had been expecting it, and he threw up his sword just in time to deflect the knife. Aurora herself had to duck in order to avoid meeting the same end as Eli. The knife whizzed through her hair, but it didn't make contact with her skin.

Just like that, Aurora grabbed another knife and began making towards Anna, her initial target. Vair had removed himself from the battle entirely, and was instead enjoying a blueberry muffin. Aurora wanted to yell at him to get motivated and actually attack some of these other Careers.

Leo took out his wrench, running over to Hades just as the older boy had regained consciousness. The District 2 boy, while he was no longer completely defenseless, wasn't able to stop Leo from making a deep cut in his left leg with it. That was Leo's greatest weapon, after all. His wrench. Well, that _and_ his mechanical skills. Hades grimaced, and used the table to steady himself as he stood again. However, he was hardly in a condition to fight. It was clear that Margaret's bowl of fruit salad had dazed him, and he seemed a little off-balance.

Siliconia took that opportunity to begin singing:

 _Hold on, hold on to me,_

 _'Cause I'm a little unsteady..._

This riled up Anna, who was still super angry at Aurora for fooling her into indirectly killing her district partner. She launched herself at the innocent little girl, rather than the one from 9, who she was, she was a little ashamed to admit to herself, a little bit scared of. Aurora was quite skilled with throwing knives.

Anna threw her own knife at Siliconia. Then, she noticed that Hades was still wobbling like a drunk patron at a bar. She yelled, "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE, GUYS!" And they did.

* * *

The knife had hit Siliconia in the chest. She was stumbling away. Her alliance was looking at her, panicked. But they didn't need to worry. If this was dying, it didn't feel too bad. It felt kind of...freeing. She felt like she was floating, out of her body, above the Cornucopia, outside of the cannon, and above District 9 in the distance.

Distantly, she heard a cannon. It must have been her own.

And so, that was that. Siliconia Bradley had perished.

* * *

 **RIP Eli and Siliconia**

 **Eli: This guy was pretty interesting. He was listed as being a boy genius, who'd saved District 4 a lot of money with his inventions. Initially, he was supposed to be with the Careers, yet also have a secret alliance with Districts 3, 5, and 12. It was going to be** **interesting writing him as someone who was playing both sides. Unfortunately, the more I thought about it, the less I felt that this could work, given the arena I had planned out. The creator of Eli, Thorn5502 (who has since favorited me), said that he liked the way I'd written him as a genius who wanted to be known as more than just an inventor. A lot of people thought he was going to become the victor. But that's not where the cards fell for him. Maybe there's a position in heaven to invent things, Eli.**

 **Siliconia: There was never a way that she was going to win. Not only did I create her, but she's only TWELVE! And that doesn't tend to be something good for your chances at winning the Hunger Games. In this timeline, Rue doesn't even exist. But I did enjoy writing her. The theme song for her death could be "Wings" by Little Mix, but I'm going to go with "The Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani. And, in case you haven't noticed, those are two of the four songs that she sang. Had she won, she could definitely have been the Capitol's favorite teen pop singer. Unfortunately, that will never happen.**

 **We're down to the final 11. Sorry for such a short chapter, but I wanted to have it be just the feast. Instead of one that's about 6,000 words and one that's a little over two and a half thousand, a chapter that's nearly 9,000 words might have looked impressive, but it's kind of impractical to read. I hope you guys enjoyed nonetheless.**

 **With that, more than half of our** **tribbies (that's what Declan42, the creator of Vair, calls them) are dead! The next chapter will also feature another death. Looking forward to writing that one!**

 **Sincerely, SnowLucario.**


	22. Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?

**Okay, guys, listen up: This chapter is going to piss a lot of you off. You'll find out why soon. But just let me say: I can't please everyone. You know that. So, without further ado, let's get into the story. But first, poll results as of right now:**

 **First place: City Of Danger with 3 votes**

 **Tied for second place: Everything else except Red Yankee Sox, with one vote each**

 **All right. So it's likely to be City Of Danger. Time to spread my wings, and remember kids: wings are made to fly! Just like Siliconia says. Oh, yeah, and a certain British girl group.**

* * *

Even now, Anna was wondering how things could have gone so _wrong_.

They'd been at the feast, easily being about to cream the smaller alliance, when Aurora threw a knife straight at Anna's head. The instinctive fear of death had caused her to get out of the way...which had completely exposed Eli. The knife lodged in his noggin, and he was dead immediately. Not only had the cannon fired, but no one could survive brain matter oozing out like that... _yuck._

She'd fantasized about doing something very similar to this to her father, before she'd volunteered for the Games. So had Eli. And this was what it had gotten him. A knife lodged in his brain.

Now, they were down one. The only consolation was that they had also gotten one of the little kids- the little girl named Siliconia, from District 3. It wasn't as though Anna felt bad about the younger girl's death. She hadn't been a part of their alliance, and this _was_ the Hunger Games.

Even so, she wasn't happy about her district partner's death. Whatever else you could say about Finn, at least he'd gotten food on the table. And that was partly thanks to the inventions of boy genius Eli Trout. Anna couldn't help but think about the fact that she'd had some attractions to Eli when they were in the Games. Not like they could have gone very far, but she'd waited too long to voice them. And now, she was too late.

Eli would never know how she truly felt about him. And, although her father's relentless abuse had hardened her heart, this cold, cruel girl wept a little inside.

But, on the outside, she kept on the facade of being perfectly okay, as she led the other Careers back down to the Cornucopia. They'd stepped aside to allow two young men to rappel into the cavern and grab Eli's body. Now, they were going back in order to see what they could pilfer from the remnants of the food fight.

As they went back to the table, Margaret said, "You know, I always fantasized about having a massive food fight. I mean, actually _throwing_ apples and oranges and bread and shit at each other. But my parents always said it would be a waste of food".

The other Careers nodded. Having a food fight seemed to be one of those things you always _wanted_ to do, but you could never actually have happen. Now, though, they had all been able to live out their fantasies. The scene before them was an absolute mess.

Fruit salad was strewn all over the ground, and it was not an appetizing sight at all. The cantaloupe and watermelon, as well as pineapple, had all gotten covered in sand by now, so it would have been nearly inedible to all of them except Anna, who was used to it from living in District 4 all her life. And maybe Eli, too.

Eggs were also all over the place, as well as apple pies. Vair's alliance was gone, so there was no way of knowing what else had happened to them. But no doubt Vair's pride had been damaged a little with what had happened to his face. That must have been slightly embarrassing.

"Get as much in your bags as possible" Margaret said, beginning to pile bagels, muffins, and apples into her backpack. Horatio and Hades followed suit. Anna took the most of all, showing that she was large and in charge.

"Let's get out of here" she said. "I want to find a different place to camp. Hopefully, that little wannabe Career Elegance won't come here, but if she does, there'll be nothing left".

"Ha, Elegance" Horatio laughed. "I still think it's hilarious that she actually _fainted_ in front of the Gamemakers. That's not something you see every day. How did she even get a _six_?"

"I don't know" Hades said. As Horatio looked at him, he noticed that his ally wasn't looking so hot. The blow from the bowl of fruit salad had clearly dazed him, and he was still wobbly on his feet.

"Look, guys, I agree with Anna" Margaret said. "Let's leave".

* * *

That night, Siliconia and Eli appeared in the sky.

Bryson was glad for this. He'd clearly made the right choice not to go to the feast, since they always resulted in fatalities. It wasn't as though it was the key to victory. Far from it; in fact, it was often the key to the afterlife, if there _was_ an afterlife.

Elegance felt the same way. Vixen, however, didn't like that she had missed the feast. She knew that it was her own fault for not being brave enough, when she was probably the fastest person left in these Games. And she could have gotten more food, enough to fill her up for a good day or two, but she'd thrown it all away on the hopes that she wouldn't get killed at some random twist or turn in the labyrinth. And there was no way to undo it.

Vixen had to hope that she'd still have enough food to last her...as long as it needed to last her.

Conker, on the other hand, knew that he had made the right decision. Nursing his severe hangover, exacerbated by severe dehydration, he knew that he'd have had no chance at survival.

Aurora, Vair, and Leo mourned Siliconia. If they had just followed her decision, they wouldn't have lost her, most likely. The boys could tell that Aurora felt very bad about that, still. And Leo felt guilty for persuading her to tip the balance.

But people weren't like machines, Leo had always known. There was no one-size-fits-all solution that would please everybody. You just had to pick the one that might please the most people and hope for the best. And that was what Leo's alliance had done, and they had paid dearly for it.

As night fell on the Labyrinth, although words like this had little meaning unless you were near a window, the tributes tried to get sleep. They would need it, as the morning would only bring worse.

* * *

The days passed slowly inside the Labyrinth. In reality, they went at the same speed as any other days, but it felt slower, because so much had happened.

Three days ago, twenty-four tributes had entered the arena. Less than half of them were still alive. And, for most of them, things were looking grim.

The Careers were, of course, doing better than anyone else. On the fourth day of the Hunger Games, they had a lot of food from the feast the previous day, and they'd only eaten half of it.

Horatio had gotten into an argument with Anna about the sharing of the food, since the girls had gotten much larger amounts of it than the boys. The self-entitled boy clearly felt that he and Hades deserved more food. But Anna was unrelenting. "I got it, so it's finders-keepers" she said.

Horatio had considered slaying her right then and there, but he knew that the cannon would piss off his fellow Careers. And they'd more than likely go after _him_ next. Horatio was brave, but he didn't think he was that stupid.

Of course, Horatio _was_ stupid. But we'll get to that later.

Meanwhile, Hades had seemed dazed ever since the previous day's feast. The others assumed that it was because of him getting hit with the large brass bowl of fruit salad. He kept forgetting what his name was, and he was very unsteady on his feet. There was no question that he had a severe concussion, a very dangerous thing to have in the Hunger Games.

Hades spent most of the time lying in his sleeping bag, which Margaret had given to him in order to be nice to her injured district partner. Margaret instead did without.

Speaking of Margaret, she was still feeling guilty for hitting Hades with the bowl. She knew that she hadn't meant to, but that in itself didn't make her feel that much better. If only she had a better arm...

Margaret could tell that the other Careers, particularly Horatio, seemed to be mad at her for that. They barely spoke to her anymore, and she could hardly blame them. She'd turned on them just a little too early. Again, that had not been her intention, but she understood why they thought that.

So Hades lazed around in his sleeping bag, but when the Careers got him to get up in order to maybe get a bit of his bearings back, he simply hobbled around like a drunk, barely able to speak in coherent sentences. Eventually, the others gave up on this and just let him rest. The wound on his leg that Leo had given him with his wrench had also gotten severely infected, and he was now running a slight fever.

So Margaret kept applying cold compresses that she had found in her backpack at the beginning to Hades's forehead, knowing that the only way this would work was if his fever broke. And that wouldn't happen just from what she was doing. And, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she, as well as the other Careers, became of one thing:

It wasn't looking good for Hades Blackett.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Labyrinth, Conker was struggling to survive day-to-day.

His hangover was getting a little better, but the clearing up of his head just made it even more clear how not-clear his head was. He'd not gotten any water since going down on his tribute plate what felt like ages ago, even though it had only been a time of three days.

He hoped that he'd be sponsored water, but he didn't have any reason to believe that it would be so. After all, a one in training did not necessarily attract the rich citizens of the Capitol, who nevertheless did not have enough money to afford things for the tributes, simply because the prices were so exorbitant.

Conker was on his own, and he probably wouldn't survive for very much longer. Not the way things were going right now.

* * *

At the same time, the alliance of three, now, was grieving Siliconia.

"I loved that pop singer girl" Leo said between sobs, which Aurora had a hard time believing were genuine. Of course, they _all_ missed Siliconia. But Leo didn't seem as if he cared that much.

As if reading Aurora's mind, Leo said, "Sorry if I don't sound too genuine. I'm not that great with organic life forms".

"I understand" Vair said. "Let's hope that one of us can win, in order to avenge Siliconia's death".

"Yeah" Leo said.

They then fell back on their lunch, which was more of what had been for breakfast. They hadn't managed to get as much food from the feast as the Careers, but with only three people to divide it between, it was still a substantial amount.

As Vair bit into a bagel, he reflected on his chances of winning. Were they best by staying with his current alliance? Or should he leave and hope for the best? Eleven was a little early, he thought. Maybe at six or seven would be a good time. But then there would still be a decent chance that it was left between him and either Aurora or Leo in the final battle to see who would make it home.

Vair didn't know if he would have it in him to kill his former ally. He had developed so many attachments to Leo and Aurora, and the thought of having to off one, or both, of them made him want to run himself through with his dagger right now. But he wasn't suicidal. He was still afraid of death, more specifically what happened after you died.

That was what kept Vair going.

As for Bryson, he was now in a massive cavern with a small blue lake. In the middle of this lake was a ten-story tower that he had no idea what was inside. But he didn't know if he wanted to explore it or not. He still hadn't forgotten his near-death encounter with the pipe room and the bottomless pit.

Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him. Bryson waded out into the water. Thankfully, he could swim, so he wasn't too worried about that. But there had been one factor that Bryson hadn't taken into account that, now that he thought about it, might have been the most important reservation of all.

There appeared to be piranhas or some carnivorous fish. One of them caught Bryson on the leg. He felt it sink his teeth into his flesh. Staining the water purple, Bryson managed to get to the island with the tower. Then, he sat down to examine his leg.

Bryson's left leg was completely torn up, and bleeding. It looked absolutely disgusting. Thankfully, the bite of the piranhas did not cause instant death. He was still alive, for now. He didn't know if the fangs were poisonous or not, but he decided not to worry about it for the time being.

But Bryson wasn't the only one worrying about poison.

* * *

Elegance was currently in a long, low tunnel that was blue along the edges. There were also snakelike vines running along the walls, and occasionally crossing back across the tunnel's width.

 _Please, not snakes._

Elegance had always been deathly terrified of snakes, ever since Janet had been bitten by one during training for the Hunger Games. She'd hoped that she wouldn't encounter any in her Games.

She tried to calm herself down. The snake decorations on the wall didn't really mean anything, she reminded herself. They were just to unsettle her. The Capitol probably knew about all of their worst fears, and they of course knew about Elegance's problem with snakes. So they would exploit it. As always.

And she knew that the only real course of action that she could take would be to continue walking until she hit something that would force her to turn back. If this truly _was_ a snake cavern, she wanted to spend as little time here as possible. She sure as hell didn't want to run into any of them. That would not be good for her health. Not physical, and _definitely_ not psychological.

So Elegance gritted her teeth and kept walking. Eventually, she reached a muddy sump that it would be impossible to take a gigantic bounding leap over. But she didn't want to turn back, for reasons stated above. The Capitol could just be using this to box the prim and proper District 1 girl in. Surely Elegance Elysia wouldn't go through the muddy water and dirty her clothes. That just wasn't something she was going to consider!

 _Well, I'll show them,_ she thought.

Elegance waded into the water. The temperature was colder than she expected, and she was shivering soon. But she kept on walking through it, trying to keep the circulation in her arms and legs.

It wasn't only that, but the water itself felt thick and resistant to her passing through. It certainly took a lot of effort to keep on moving, but Elegance managed it. She'd had quite a bit of practice, and she could swim. Which was a good thing, because there had been no pool in the Training Center. If this had been a water arena, and she _hadn't_ learned how to swim in District 1, she'd be a goner right now. But now, she was hardly any better off.

Elegance reflected further on her situation. Even though more than half of the tributes were dead, she still didn't think that she had much of a chance at winning. Great way to avenge her sister!

As she pawed her way through the sump, breathing heavily, she knew that her outfit was getting dirtier and dirtier, but that was kind of inconsequential. At the rate things were going, she'd only have to last a few more days in these muddy clothes. Normally, she hoped that the Capitol was not watching her at that particular moment. But Elegance wished greatly that they had watched her wade through the muddy water. She didn't want the Capitol audience thinking that she'd had a horrific accident. That would _definitely_ not attract sponsors.

Needless to say, Elegance was no longer looking that elegant by the time she emerged on the other side of the sump. She continued going through the tunnel, wondering what she would face next.

And, it turned out to be just what she had feared the most.

* * *

The tunnel opened onto a cavern that was sand on the bottom and rose a hundred feet up, with a little hole through which Elegance could see the sun, straight up, meaning that it was probably about noon right now. Her fellow Careers might be eating lunch.

Of course, they weren't really her _fellow_ Careers. Ever since she'd passed out in front of the Gamemakers, they'd refused to have anything to do with her. If only she was with them...no, she couldn't continue down that track of thought. She had to find an entirely different subway line if she was going to get out of this new situation she found herself in.

There were four pythons in each of the four corners of the room, which kind of resembled an Egyptian tomb from an _Indiana Jones_ movie. The one in the northwest corner, from Elegance's perspective, was striped brown and green. The northeastern one was striped blue, white, and gray. The southwestern one was red and orange, while the southeastern one was solid blue.

The snakes might have been different colors, but that didn't matter to Elegance. All she knew was that she had never been more terrified in her whole life. Ever since Janet had been bitten by that python back home in District 1, it had been Elegance's number one fear that she might follow in her friend's footsteps.

 _But maybe that'll also mean that I win the Hunger Games, just like her._

Elegance couldn't let herself indulge in that fantasy. Yeah, that might happen, but Janet had been close to an ambulance and been able to be treated. Elegance was in the Labyrinth, and who knew what she might face?

For Elegance had heard the ancient Greek story of the Labyrinth, designed by Daedalus, which he'd been imprisoned in. And the Minotaur...and the Sphinx...and other things. This story had creeped her out to a certain degree, but she'd also "known" that it was bullshit. No way the ancient Greeks had actually _believed_ those stories.

Now, Elegance was beginning to suspect more and more that the arena she had been placed in was based on that story. That thought didn't please her. She knew that distance was meaningless here. And, while lots of people stopped thinking when they were scared, Elegance's mind worked the opposite way. She thought _more_ when she was worried. She might have had ADHD, but would that really matter right now, unless she escaped this cavern and managed to become victor?

* * *

Of course, nothing was ever that easy.

Elegance sprinted into the nearest tunnel. From behind her, she could hear the hisses of snakes pursuing her. She knew that a single bite would be the end of her run for that victor's crown. And she didn't want to lose her life. Not after surviving three days alone, without the protection of an alliance.

In that respect, she had been doing better than the other Careers.

In any case, Elegance continued running down paths. She turned at random, trying to get the snakes off her path, but every time she looked back, the red-orange snake was right behind her. These were clearly designed just for this purpose, or else they wouldn't be such efficient trackers. And she knew that she was in deep trouble now.

At that moment, Elegance knew that she was likely to die within the next few minutes. All of the general fear she'd been holding in ever since volunteering had condensed into an immediate fear of these predators, these snakes that might kill her in seconds. She didn't see any way out other than keeping up as much speed as she could. If there had been any pits nearby, she would have gladly thrown herself into one. That would be better than what _could_ happen.

And then, suddenly, she saw no way out at all. She'd been backed into a corner, and was forced to turn around, but she knew that she was too late. The four snakes had all converged on a spot twenty feet away from her. They were all hissing, and Elegance suddenly realized one thing.

These snakes were each colored based on one of the four classical elements. The brown-and-green one was based on earth, the blue one was water, the red-orange one was fire, and the blue-gray-white one was sky.

 _Okay, so which one would make for the least painful death?_ Elegance asked herself. She guessed that it might be the water one, but she didn't see why that would matter. They would probably each be equally painful for her. One thing was for sure: there was no getting out of this one.

She thought of Olivia, her sister, who she just might get to see again. And she thought of Janet...and her parents...and her boyfriend...and all the people who were about to lose her.

With that, she was a million miles away when the bite came.

Key words: _when the bite came._

Almost immediately, the venom made her feel very dizzy, not unlike how she'd felt after pricking herself with that mace in front of the Gamemakers. She knew she was going to faint. And, this time, there was going to be no coming to.

And there was pain, quite a lot of it, all over her leg. It reminded her of what had happened on that hot day outside, army-crawling through the scrubs of District 1. And it looked pretty bad, but she couldn't be sure. She couldn't be sure of that much anymore. She was hallucinating, she was pretty sure of that.

And then, there was nothing.

The girl was unconscious less than a minute after being bitten. Less than five minutes later, Elegance Elysia expired, entering whatever came after you died.

But the point was this. The girl from District 1, who'd gotten a six in training, the weak link of the Career pack, was gone.

* * *

 **RIP Elegance**

 **Elegance: This will probably be the most detailed obituary I will write for this story. I LOVED this girl! Her profile said that she was arrogant, and I didn't notice that her sister's name was supposed to be Herald, not Olivia. Oh well. But I noticed how troubled her background was, so I decided to portray her as a vulnerable teenage girl who felt pressured into volunteering, despite that not quite being what was outlined for her. And her creator, who goes by the name of "WhyNotWriteFanfiction" (personally, I think that the question should be "WhyWriteFanfiction?", being that there are a lot of positive reasons TO do it, but that's just my take), was the first person to review the second chapter, complimenting me on a great interpretation of Elegance, and how I wrote her better than she thinks she could have. Thanks, _. And she's been a loyal follower of me ever since. Anyways, what I liked the most about Elegance was that she was such a contrasting person. She was a Career, but she was a CHARACTER as well. She volunteered, not out of bloodlust and a desire for fame and fortune, but because she wanted to finish what her sister had started. She was also the fan favorite, which was why I warned that this chapter might piss a lot of you off. But at least she's with her sister now, whatever lays beyond the door we call "death".**

 **Wow, that was a long obituary! Anyway, we're down to the final ten. And, given what I have planned, it'll go by fast. I wouldn't be surprised if _Labyrinth_ is done by the end of the month. I definitely feel as though I'm getting there.**

 **Currently, City Of Danger has three votes, Water World has two votes, and everything else except Red Yankee Sox has one vote. We'll see how things are working out. And character submissions for the 64th, as well as sponsors for this, are still open. Both of them are PM-only.**

 **With that, SnowLucario is out.**


	23. 63rd Interviews

**Hey, guys. This chapter took a little longer to get out than the others, mainly because of school. Tenth grade is harder than ninth, I'll say that much. I have two books I'm reading right now. So I decided that I was going to make things a bit different. Normally, interviews in the Hunger Games are done at the final 8. But, since three characters are slated to die in the next chapter, I'm doing them at ten instead. I also created four new characters to go along with the plot. I hope you enjoy.**

 **This chapter does contain references to prostitution, since it's talking about what happens to the victor. I still believe that this can retain its T rating, even with that.**

 **Also, my stories have hit a grand total of over 4,000 views. Awesome!**

* * *

"This is going to be good" Teren said. "They're doing the interviews early this year. I wonder why?"

"I don't know" replied Rowan.

The four Capitol teenagers were whiling away the hottest evening of the summer vacation before tenth grade so far in a bar. They weren't allowed to sit at the very front, but they were allowed to drink nonalcoholic sodas at a booth, from which they could watch the interviews for the 63rd Hunger Games. This was another important moment in the Games, when the audience would be reintroduced to people that they had stopped caring about a week and a half ago.

"These Games are going by way too quickly" Blaine said. "It's been only three days, and we're _already_ at the final ten! I wish they didn't have to kill of Elegance, I _loved_ her. I wanted to _marry_ Elegance. And now she's dead".

"Oh, shut up, will you, Blaine?" Teren snorted.

"Yeah, I think that you need to stop caring about marrying the victor. You do know what happens to the winner, right? If they're pretty enough?" Enfield said.

"Uh...I forgot" Blaine said, cheeks turning slightly red.

"They make them become sluts for whoever wants them" Enfield explained. Enfield was the voice of reason of the group; he always made sure that everyone knew that. While the forced prostitution of victors was not revealed to those in the districts, in the Capitol this was common knowledge. After all, there was no reason for these people to rebel. They had everything they ever wanted: ample fancy food, elegant clothing, and all of the money they could ever want. Well, not _all_ of it, but very few people needed to work for what they had. This was a utopia in any and every sense of the word.

"I guess I wouldn't want to marry a hooker" said Blaine. Words like that were not uncommon in bars, even among fifteen-year-olds, so no one really paid them any attention.

"Look, guys, it's starting!" Rowan said.

The four boys turned their attention to the TV right behind the bar. They had all been awaiting the moment when the favored Hunger Games reporter, Zane Reynolds, would get on the screen and begin talking about who was left.

"Ladies and gentlemen...I give you...our final ten...of the sixty-third annual Hunger Games!"

Shots were shown of Horatio from District 1 in the Bloodbath, tripping over District 3's trip wire, and in the feast. Margaret was shown hitting Hades with a bowl of fruit salad on accident. Leo was shown morning Siliconia, along with Aurora and Vair. Tributes running through tunnels of various colors, facing muttations, fighting each other, and, finally, Elegance getting bitten by a venomous snake.

"With the death of Elegance Elysia of District 1, we have just ten tributes remaining. This means that it's time for the interviews!"

Zane appeared on screen. The man had glasses, looked slightly nerdy, and was wearing a luxurious golden outfit that looked like something from a storybook.

Teren had a brutal temper at times, but he was often considered to be the most excitable of his friends. He was the one who derived the most pleasure out of the Hunger Games. He had the red hair and tattoo of Horatio Jewel to prove it. In the last three days, it had been insanely popular. In fact, Teren had just gotten here from the tattoo parlor, getting that Horatio tattoo. It was obvious whom he was rooting for.

Rowan always seemed very chill, with his curly blue hair. He had the appearance of a surfer, which he often did when his family went on vacations to District 4, or past water arenas, of which there were quite a few. Rowan was also very into the Hunger Games.

Blaine wasn't that smart. Well, he was _smart,_ but he was often quite impulsive. He said things before he really thought too much about what he was about to say. His comment about wanting to marry Elegance was one of these things. He was probably the simplest of the four friends.

Enfield was the voice of reason of the group, as stated above. His green hair and tattoo of the Indian flag also made it kind of clear who he wanted to win. He also had had a map of Panem tattooed onto his back, with District 8 marked in black. He was the biggest Vair fan at their high school.

Zane appeared to travel to the southwestern coast of Panem, where District 1 was. The next thing the boys knew, he was standing inside of a District 1 villa overlooking the sea. Horatio's house. He was in front of Horatio's family, all of whom had blonde hair and blue eyes.

"So, what are your names?" Zane asked the family in front of him.

"I'm Glitter" the woman said. The man said his name was Peter, and the girl said her name was Silvera. It was obvious who was who in this family. Glitter and Peter were Horatio's parents, and Silvera was his younger sister. All three of them had the air of feeling that they were above the world, as though they should have been in the most fancy golden mansion in the Capitol, not some upper-class oceanfront villa in District 1.

"So, Peter, how do you feel about your son's chances of winning these Games?" Zane asked.

"I think that he has a pretty good shot. I definitely put it at more than half. I was a little skeptical, given that Hades got an eleven, but he's effectively out of the running now, with the concussion and all of that. I don't expect him to be that much competition".

"Interesting. So what do you think the ideal strategy for your son, going forward, would be?" Zane asked the man.

"I think that he should kill the other Careers in their sleep. He can probably get Anna and Margaret, and Hades would be defenseless to stop him. That's what he should do" Peter said, as if he hadn't given it that much thought and was just repeating it from memory.

"That's interesting. And you're not worried about the cannons announcing what he had just done?" Zane asked Glitter this time.

"I definitely think that this is a risky strategy. And I know that Horatio isn't watching us, but...I love you, son. And I just want you to come back to me".

"And finally, let's get to you, Silvera. You're Horatio's sister, right?"

"Yes" Silvera confirmed. "I am sixteen years old".

"So you're only a year younger than your brother" Zane said.

"That is correct".

"How do you feel about your brother's decision to volunteer for the Hunger Games?" Zane asked Silvera.

"I think it was brave. Let's hope that it doesn't end up being stupid" Silvera said simply.

"All right, guys. That was the Jewel family of District 1. Let's give it up for them!"

Of course, there was no way that Zane could have known if anyone was following his instructions. But he didn't seem to care as he was about to move on to District 2.

"Man, I wish Elegance was still there" Blaine said.

"Shut up!" Teren hissed at him. "Horatio's enough. It's time to move on to Hades".

* * *

Now, Zane was dressed up in a miner's outfit, ready to interview the Blackett family. Hector and Sarah Blackett, as well as Hades's girlfriend, Sophie, were present for the interview.

"So, Hector, I hear that Sarah is your second wife...what happened to your first one?" Zane asked the well-built man in front of him.

Hector Blackett looked as though he was about to answer that question, when Sarah said, "We'd rather not, for reasons that should be quite obvious". She shot her husband a look that clearly said, _We'll talk about this later._

"Sarah, I know that these last ten days have been a trying time for you. How do you feel with your son being away?"

"Well, Zane, it's tough" Sarah said. "We love our son very much, and not knowing if he's going to come home or not...that's tough. But you just take it day by day. And, after all, the odds _are_ in his favor. For one, he's a Career, and he got a score of eleven-"

"But right now, when you see him struggling. He's not doing very well at all, Sarah. Are you still thinking he has a good shot?"

"Man, that's a difficult question" Sarah replied to Zane. "I guess that that significantly lowers his odds. But he's just got to outlast everyone else, and when he gets back to the Capitol, he'll be right as rain".

"I honestly don't care what happens to him" Sophie blurted out. Everyone present gaped at her, as if they had only now realized that she was present.

"He's treated me like shit for the whole duration of our relationship. He hits me, calls me all sorts of awful names, and is generally an abusive boyfriend".

"Wait... _abusive boyfriend?_ " Zane, Sarah, and Hector all asked in unison.

"Yes, I think that's what it's called" Sophie said again. She looked quite embarrassed, but also angry at the same time. But she didn't care. She just wanted to let everyone know that Hades Blackett was not a good person. In District 2, bloodthirsty tributes were encouraged, not frowned upon as they were in other districts. But Hades was not nice to women at all. And Sophie wanted to let all of the people in the square, as well as everyone in the surrounding villages that were watching, know that.

"That really sucks for you" Zane said. "If Hades wins, I trust that you are going to break up with him?"

"Yes" Sophie confirmed. "After all, I'll have all of Panem backing me. There's no way I'm staying with that asshole" she said.

"Sorry, people of District 2, and the Capitol as well, that Hades Blackett wasn't who you thought he was. Well, it's time to move onto our next interview with the next family. Let's go!"

* * *

Hades's family lived in the central, city part of District 2. The Malachi family lived in a small villa nestled in the higher elevations of the mountains, at about seven thousand feet above sea level. It was a dramatic change for sure.

"Morning, Mrs. Malachi" Zane said.

"Loving the alliteration" the dark-haired woman replied. Philippa Malachi was definitely an intimidating presence in the room, considering that she was a Peacekeeper, but that didn't faze Zane. After all, he was from the Capitol, and had no intentions of rebelling against a system that treated him so well.

"Thanks, Philippa. That is your name, right?"

"Yeah, that's my name. And this is my husband, Walter" she gestured to the tall, muscular man next to her. He was currently on his laptop, reviewing plans for a horseshoe that his blacksmithing company was going to be trying to make.

"Walter Malachi, will you please get off your computer?" Zane asked Margaret's father.

"Well, Mr. Reynolds, I'm currently working on an important project, and I don't want to interrupt it. Plus, as you probably have been told, I'm a blacksmith. I figure that it's better for you guys to see me in my element".

"Fair enough" Zane said.

"What else are you going to ask us, Mr. Reynolds?" Philippa asked. She was kind but harsh, letting this Capitol reporter know that she meant business.

"I just wanted to know how you think your daughter is going to do, going forward in the Games".

"I think that she's going to win" Walter said. "I have full confidence in my daughter's abilities. I even helped her train for the Hunger Games! She's got this in the bag, I know it". Mr. Malachi still looked absorbed in his project to a certain degree, but he was giving good enough responses to please Zane, so he stopped asking him to get off the computer.

"And you, Mrs. Malachi?" the reporter asked Margaret's mother.

"I am also optimistic. I think that this is a difficult arena to win in, but if anyone can do it, it'll be her. Still rooting for you, Maggie!"

"All right! That does it for the family of Margaret Malachi. Next, we're moving on to District 3! Stay tuned!" Zane said into the camera

* * *

Ericka Nale was standing in front of Zane, now, shown in the back of her machine shop that she worked at. Her clothes were splattered with grease, as they nearly always were, and she was still looking grief-stricken over her son being reaped for the Hunger Games.

"So, Ericka, what happened to your husband? I notice that he's not there".

"I'd rather not talk about it" Leo's mother said.

"You sure? I'm sure it might attract sponsors for your son" Zane said, pleading for the scoop on what had happened to the missing man, and why Ericka was a single mother.

That was all Ericka needed to hear. She began to spill the story.

"My ex-husband, Clockwork...it was a toxic relationship. He hit me a lot. Eventually, I divorced him, and took full custody of Leo. I'm still stuck with the name, though, even though Clockwork's dead now- drank away his whole liver, pretty much. He wasn't a pleasant person to be around, that's for sure".

"Sorry about that" Zane said.

"It's fine, he was a jerk anyway" Ericka said.

"Anything else you'd like to tell us about your son and his chances of winning the Hunger Games?" Zane asked the woman from District 3.

"I don't know, Zane. On the one hand, he's good with traps and whatnot. On the other hand...". She didn't need to finish the sentence.

"Leo's pretty resourceful, at least from what we've seen so far" Zane said. "I don't think we can count him out".

"I know" Ericka said.

"Well, guys, let's give it up for Ericka Nale. Next up: District 4..."

Zane got a message over his earpiece.

"Sorry, guys, looks like Finn Hardy has declined the interview. Looks like we're moving on to District 6, then!"

* * *

Jack Rover was in a back alleyway of District 6, due to being a street urchin. Despite this, the TV crews had managed to find him, and were now interviewing him about Vixen. He looked even more unkempt than he usually did, which was most likely because of the fact that his best friend was in the Hunger Games. It wasn't something that he was happy about, to be sure.

"So, Jack, it appears that you are homeless. Can you confirm or deny that?"

"Can confirm. My dad cheated on my mom when I was nine. She killed him, and then she got caught. She's been executed, so now it's just me and Vixen. Her real name's Hannah, but I used to call her 'Wee Vixen' because she's just so fast".

"Wow, that's a sad story, Jack" Zane said. "Do you think that Vixen's speed is going to be her strongest asset in these Games? So far, she's evaded conflict pretty well".

"I agree" Jack said. "I think that Vixen definitely has what it takes to win. I don't know if she will, but we'll just have to see. Until then, I'm not going to give up hope. Without hope, there is nothing. So, guys, it's _time for a rebellion!_ "

Jack raised his fists, causing a few people nearby to scurry out of the way. The Peacekeepers present took Jack's arms and manhandled him towards the central square, a distance of nearly a mile. Teren, Rowan, Blaine, and Enfield could easily see Jack being forced onto the front steps of District 6's Justice Building, brought to his knees, and shot through the head. It was an end not dissimilar to that Eli Trout had faced the previous day.

"Serves him right" Teren said. "He was insulting the Capitol, and if you do that publicly, you're not gonna live to see the morning".

"I agree" said Rowan. Enfield and Blaine did not say anything else, but it could be seen plainly that they agreed with the other two boys.

As Zane announced on the TV that Berry, Conker's only living loved one, had declined the interview, Enfield asked, "How the fuck has Conker even made it this far? He's just a bumbling drunk, and that's not a good combination when you're in a deranging, rearranging maze. I'm sick of the useless people making it so far!"

"I know" Rowan said. "But that's just the reality of the Games, Enfield. Oh, look, our food's arriving".

It was true. A cyan-haired waiter in a sailor's jacket was bringing the food that the four boys had ordered. It was clear, judging by his outfit, who the man was rooting for.

Blaine had ordered a stromboli with lamb, onions, pepperoni, salami, and pineapple. This guy was an omnivore, and he was clearly glad that he was well-fed here in the Capitol, while the poor tributes were struggling to survive day-to-day. Blaine had always, intrinsically, known that this was not fair, but he had never been brave enough to rebel. He just had too much to lose.

Enfield had ordered a purple melon burger with fries, slathered in blueberry sauce. This was a popular delicacy in the Capitol, and, since Enfield's family owned a fancy restaurant, he often got to sample dishes before his father came out with them. He was glad that his family had a business, so he had things to do, when he was an adult, to do things other than sit around waiting for the annual Hunger Games to come around. Although, that _was_ certainly a bonus.

Rowan was sharing a pizza with Teren. They both were digging in, eating like animals, not surprising considering that they had both run 10Ks that day. They deserved to pig out, and, since both boys had the metabolism of Maximum Ride, it wasn't going to have too much an effect on their waistlines.

Just then, though, Zane Reynolds was moving on to the next district. "Only three more!" the reporter announced excitedly.

* * *

In District 8, Avitus Armani was waiting with his daughter, Velvet, for the interview.

"Let's start with you, Avitus" Zane said. "How are you doing without your son, Vair?"

"It's hard" Mr. Armani said. "Every day I wake up, looking to see Vair coming in from a run with Velvet, and...he's not there". Mr. Armani was sobbing at this.

"If you lose him forever, how will you cope with it?"

"I wouldn't say I would _cope._ I'd just have to get through it, one way or another. And I would, I'd find something else to care about".

"Where's your wife, by the way? I'm noticing that she's not at the interview. Did she have to go in to work today?" Zane Reynolds asked the man.

"As a matter of fact, yes, she did" Avitus said. "We're struggling with money, just like a lot of other people in our district. But just as long as we have each other, everything will be all right. That's what we always tell each other".

"That's good. Always nice to look on the bright side of things. How are you doing, little girl?"

"I have a name, you know" Velvet said, sounding somewhat exasperated. Which she was.

"Sorry, Velvet. Anyway, how is your relationship with Vair? How do you get along? I notice that there is a very significant age gap between the two of you. Eight years...what do you do with him?"

"Well, as my father said, Vair and I like to run. A lot. I think that my brother's speed is his greatest strength in these Games. He can run away from mutts, poisonous gas, and other tributes. And I think that he can win, as long as he doesn't get too far ahead of himself. As for our relationship, we get along very well considering everything, although he has always been a little jealous of me".

"Why is that?" Zane asked the nine-year-old girl.

"Well, you see, my brother values education above everything. He didn't get much schooling himself, but I go to school every day. Of course, since today's Sunday, I didn't go today. And I hate that. I hate that he resents me for it sometimes, but at the same time I love the reason he does, because it's a _good_ reason, you know? And I definitely love him even more than schooling. Like Papa says, as long as we're together, nothing else matters. We could be seven feet underground, and I'd be smiling like the sun".

"I love me some optimism" Zane said. "Well, that's it for District 8, since Miri died three days ago, in the Bloodbath. Let's move on...to District 9!"

* * *

The Baylor family was standing outside of their humble home in the Wheatlands. Patch and Mare were there, as well as Dax, Aurora's older younger brother. They were all looking grief-stricken, and yet they still had the little sparkles of hope in their eyes that their little sunshine would return.

"So, let's start with the ladies first. Mare, what was the first thing you thought when Aurora got reaped?"

"I thought, _This really sucks. Now, Aurora won't get to live out her dream. She'll just be one of those nameless masses in the Wheatlands, the way she always says she_ doesn't _want to be_. It was devastating. And now, with her being in the top ten, I'm feeling more hopeful again".

"Patch, what exactly do you think that Aurora's dream is?" Of course, everyone probably knew this by now, but Patch was happy to answer anyway, even though he was not happy about the circumstances.

"She has always told us that she wants to be a biological engineer. She always wanted to do it so that she could grow more food to feed all of the people who are starving in this district" Patch said.

"A touching story" Zane said. "I'm very sorry that her life was taken from you like that. Maybe, just maybe, she'll get it back. Let's hope that is the case, for the sake of all of District 9. Agreed?"

"Agreed" the three Baylors said in unison.

"We've saved the youngest for last. Dax, do you think that your sister has a shot at winning the Games?"

"I definitely do" Dax responded. "She got an eight in training, after all. And I think that she is very likable, so sponsors might decide to send her something that she might need".

"And what do you think she needs?" Zane Reynolds asked Dax.

"I don't know. Right now, she's looking pretty good. If I were her, though, I would kill the others in her alliance right now. This is the final 10, and alliances are fluid at this point. You can't be the _second_ person to betray your alliance. Anyone other than the first is _dead_. And that goes for the Careers, too".

"Wow, Dax, that's a dire pronouncement" Zane said. "With that, it's time to move on to our last interview- the family of Bryson Holstein of District 10!"

* * *

The Holstein family was standing outside of their large ranch house that they owned on the outskirts of the district. They were doing their best to stay composed, but you could see the tears in their eyes. In District 10, where the majority of the people were below the poverty line and had to take out tesserae, it was rare to see an upper-class child get reaped. Well, not necessarily _rare,_ but it was usually a poorer kid. That was just the way things went.

"So, Winston, how's your kid brother doing in the Games?" Zane was clearly adopting the District 10 style of speaking especially for this interview, which the Holsteins did not seem too happy about.

"I'm worried about him, to be perfectly honest" Winston said. "He got such a low score, a three. Not to say that people who score that low never win, because it's happened before, but, you know, it's just not too common. And now, he just got bitten by some kind of piranha thing. If his wound gets infected, he sure's hell better get a sponsor, otherwise he's fucked".

"Agreed" Garrett said.

"So, Garrett, I notice that you look pretty sad. Even more so than most families of District 10 kids I've interviewed. What is that all about, hm?"

"Well," Garrett said, "I think that a lot of those kids grow up poor, and the money they get from winning could really help their families. But with us, we don't need money, we're pretty well-off. The only thing he has to gain from winning is his life, the way we see it. At a certain point, more money doesn't make too much of a difference".

"I couldn't have said it better myself!" Winston exclaimed.

"Well, guys, that's about all we have time for" Zane said. "Thank you, Panem, for watching these interviews. Make sure to stay tuned in, because there is more to come in the sixty-third annual Hunger Games!" Of course, there was really no need for him to say that, since the interviews, as well as the rest of the Games, were mandatory viewing for everyone.

* * *

The four boys had now finished with their dinner, and were walking home. The sun had sunk below the Rocky Mountains, and all any of them were concerned about was getting some _Mario Kart_ in before bedtime, or maybe some fanfiction writing, for all four boys partook in this oft-maligned hobby.

"Good night, guys" Enfield said.

"You too, Enfield!" the other three boys shouted, as Enfield walked into his house.

The other three teenagers all took different routes to get back to their homes in the suburbs of the Capitol, which were not _quite_ as wealthy as the city itself. Then, they all went their separate ways, working on their separate stories, playing their separate online races, as they all awaited the next day, when there would be more Hunger Games awesomeness.

* * *

 **Okay. First, I would like to say that it was cool creating four new characters as I wrote this chapter. I wanted to have some guys that I can relate to in this story. After all, I'm a teenage fanfiction writer, who loves burgers. And pizza. And everything else.**

 **Also, with this chapter, I inch _Labyrinth_ above the 82,500-word mark. That may look innocuous, but the fact of the matter is that there are an average of 275 or so words per page of a young adult novel. That means that I have officially reached three hundred pages. It's now longer than the first _Harry Potter_ book. And that is a great honor to have an actual _novel_ out there. _Bounding Through Time_ hardly counts, I would think, since it's only 62,863 words.**

 **I wouldn't say we're _close_ to the end of the Games. But we're _close to close._ The last nine deaths are going to go by rather fast, but I think you will enjoy them nonetheless. I have some pretty horrible ends planned for some of these teenagers.**

 **Here are some questions I would like you guys to answer in your reviews of this chapter (and yes, I want you to review. I'm doing all the heavy lifting here, writing this story on top of school, which is starting to kick my ass):**

 **1\. If this was being made into a movie, who would you play as? Take into account physical appearance, gender, personality, possibly age, and what scenes you would be willing to play. For me, a tall, thin, white guy, I think that I could do Eli well. Except for the speared-through-the-brain part. I am also a pretty strong swimmer, so I could do the scene in District 4.**

 **2\. Who do you think is going to win the Hunger Games? Please do not say who you KNOW it's going to be, because some people are privy to that information while others are not.**

 **3\. Can anyone tell me how to get images onto a DocX document? They always seem to disappear when I paste one on, and I'm wondering why that is. Is it just not possible?**

 **Okay, guys. Be prepared, because the next chapter is going to have a lot of action in it. Hope you continue to enjoy and review.**

 **Also, you may have noticed that, on my profile, it says that Dax Baylor is the District 9 male for the 64th SYOT. That's not a mistake. It's true. Dax is going to be in it. Poor Baylor family, losing two of their children in two years (unless Aurora wins, which I will neither confirm nor deny).**

 **One important thing about 64th submissions: You might be mad at me for killing your character and stealing their life away. But here's how I see it. The way I see it, when you submit your character, you're signing that character's life away to me, and there's a 1 in 24 chance they might get it back. That's my side of things. In other words, I don't kill them, you do.**

 **SnowLucario out.**


	24. The Riddle Tower

**Hey, guys, it's SnowLucario again. I now have three new drawings on DeviantArt, which I did during math class today (Thursday, September 8). They are of the H-boys and a map of my Panem, which has my finger blocking District 7 in what is currently Alaska. I live somewhere in District S, which is New England.**

 **Also, I finally got another vote on my poll! City Of Danger is still in first, but Water World and Lorax are still just one vote behind, with Deep Darkness and Lost Underworld only having one vote each. I think that we can count Red Yankee Sox out now, since people seldom actually take time to vote in my polls. Sad, really, but what can I do?**

 **Labyrinth has reached 91 reviews, and I'd love to see it reach 100 before it's over, which I really think it will. Also, it has passed over 3,000 views, which is also pretty great. You guys know that I love this type of publicity. I still can't believe that my other stories have barely any reviews at all.**

 **With that, let's get on to the story! You're going to love this chapter. It's well over seven thousand words, and I'm really hoping that you guys will review it.**

* * *

Bryson had seen better days.

His leg, ever since being bitten by that piranha, or whatever it was, had been oozing blood. He was worried it might get infected, and he had no idea of anything he could possibly do to reduce the odds of that happening. Odds were cruel, he knew that much. They were the reason he had been reaped for the Hunger Games, despite being from a wealthier family who had never had to take out tesserae. He hadn't expected Garrett to volunteer for him, of course. His brother was younger than him, and would have had even less of a chance of surviving the Games than Bryson did right now. Maybe it was better that his younger brother hadn't thrown his life away for him.

He couldn't dwell too much on the past if he was going to survive the present. Gingerly, he probed the wound, wondering what was going on with it now. Of course, he didn't expect anything different from what he'd seen before. It was now the evening of the fourth day, and the anthem should have been coming on soon. He remembered hearing a cannon some hours ago; who was that? One of the Careers? Or someone else? He didn't know.

Bryson's leg was worse than it had been before. There was a certain quality to it that made it even more gruesome than it had been before. Back in District 10, they would not typically have been equipped to treat something like this very well. They would simply lance it and hope for the best. But, based on what Bryson could see, it was badly infected, and he probably only had a few days to live.

Of course, that wasn't unthinkable. After all, these Games had gone fairly quickly thus far. There were only ten tributes left, the same as the number of his district, and if the pace kept on going, it could be over before Bryson died of the infection, or whatever had overtaken his leg. Even so, he labored under no illusions as to how his odds were. Only a wealthy sponsor, or some extremely cruel Gamemaker twist that killed everyone but him, would suffice to save his life.

Now, he was still next to the mysterious tower. He didn't think that he could risk crossing back across the underground pond- the piranhas continued to bite menacingly at him, and he could tell that they were going to finish him for sure if he got back in. With blood on him, that would be more than enough to egg them on. Another crossing would most likely kill him. If it didn't, it would put him completely beyond hope, just in case there was something important inside this tower that would help him win these Games, because he'd have to cross a _third_ time.

No, that wasn't an option. And he then came to one powerful conclusion. The very idea made him want to throw himself back into the pond. But he wanted to see his brothers again, once again feel the hot summer sun of District 10 on his back. And, in order to make that happen, he knew one thing.

Since he couldn't go out, he would have to go in.

* * *

Inside the tower, there was a large, circular room with four doors, arranged like the points on a compass rose. A spiral staircase led up to some other floor, and he didn't know what else lay in wait for him. Whether it might be muttations, some other trap, or something absolutely _amazing,_ he knew very much that he wanted to see it. He needed to solve the secret of this tower. Somehow, it might be the key to his survival.

Bryson put his hand on the railing and used it to support his weight as he limped up the stairwell. He was wondering what was up there. Again, the possibilities ran through his head, but he disregarded all the negative ones. The way he saw it, he had nothing to lose at this point. It wasn't looking good for District 10 this year, and Bryson knew it. Those poor, starving farm kids would have to find someone else to hang their hopes on, and since Cam was already dead, he knew that that would have to wait until next year.

 _Next year..._

He'd never found himself wishing that the Hunger Games had occurred more frequently than once a year. After all, they were a great and terrible tragedy, twenty-three adolescents being sent to the slaughterhouse on national television. It had always disgusted him. These Capitol people were moral monsters, treating such as a great form of entertainment.

Now, though, Bryson was beginning to wish that this year would have another chance for those kids to get the food for their district. That was another prize for the victor. Of course, since the winner was a Career just as often as it wasn't, it often went to a district that didn't really need it, so that was kind of wasted. But Bryson knew a lot of poorer people who really could have benefitted from it.

As Bryson continued staggering up to the second floor, he realized that it wasn't over yet. After all, he'd made it fairly deep into the Games. He just had to not be anywhere before the ninth person to die from here on out, and then win the final battle. Of course, that was questionable in the situation that he was currently in, and it would no doubt be far worse by then. But he had to go on believing that he at least had _some_ possibility of living, however slim. He couldn't just give up now. Too many people were counting on him for Bryson to allow that to happen. And fear of death would definitely motivate Bryson to make it as far as he possibly could.

When Bryson saw the stone pedestal at the top, he noticed that there was some small golden writing on it. He decided, however, that he would decipher the mysteries of this tower in the morning. For now, he decided to sit down and wait until the morning to make any more moves.

* * *

Margaret, meanwhile, was pondering the social game of the Hunger Games. She felt that she had figured out the secret to improving the odds of winning at the Hunger Games. Of course, she'd put everything in her favor as much as possible. For half of her life, she'd been training hours a day for this opportunity. And she wanted it, badly. _Badly._

As she lay back in her sleeping back, she watched the death recap along with the other three Careers who were still alive. It revealed that Elegance, the weak link in their tight-knit group, had been the one for whom the cannon had fired. The District 1 girl who had fainted during the training session, and gotten a six as a result, was now deceased. Margaret didn't know what to think of that.

For one, that meant that there was less competition, and also that Elegance wouldn't be meeting the Careers randomly to try to get a revenge kill in. That was good. On the other hand, Margaret had forged a pretty good friendship with the younger girl during their week of preparation in the Capitol. She was displeased with the fact that she'd lost Elegance now.

Had Margaret been aware of Elegance's troubled background, she would have realized that Elegance had effectively signed her life away the second she had volunteered. And, she would have realized that she had given herself at least a 75% chance of dying as well, since, even when you were a highly funded, highly trained Career tribute, there could only be one victor. And Margaret wanted it to be her.

* * *

Since she had been put on watch for the time being, Margaret decided to hatch a plan. She knew that, now that there were only ten tributes remaining, the Career pack would likely be disbanding soon. This happened every year, but it was usually not a peaceful event. _Someone_ always ended up betraying the alliance.

In the Hunger Games, you didn't get to be the _second_ person to betray your group. Anyone who wasn't first was _dead._

Margaret decided to leave the other Careers. She wished that she could have killed one or two of them in the process, but she knew that, since the cannons would fire to announce their deaths, she would be better off leaving them alone. She could always get them later.

Still, though, it was so tempting to cut into Horatio, that arrogant fool, with her katana. Hades was already pretty vulnerable, considering that he was still dazed and confused, as well as wounded. She could effectively write him off.

Margaret knew that, if she really wanted to leave, she had better hurry, and be stealthy about it. She wanted to have gone down several different tunnels by the time they woke up and caught on to the fact that they were down one member. So she hastily, and quietly, packed up her black backpack with some leftover food from the feast, which was probably injected with some special Capitol technology to ensure that it would not spoil during the Games. At least, Margaret sure as hell hoped that that was the case. Otherwise, she would find herself in big trouble.

Just as she was about ready to leave, she noticed the sound of someone stirring. It was her district partner, Hades Blackett.

In his current state, his previous incarnation as the archetypical emotionless District 2 boy was gone. Now, he was just a sick, possibly dying, eighteen-year-old boy who had signed his life away and only had a very slim chance of getting it back. She found it hard to pity him, though. After all, he'd shown that he didn't treat women very well, and, considering that Margaret _was_ a woman, that didn't exactly make her like him any better.

Even so, she had a hard time killing him now. Of course, she knew that that would be unwise, for reasons stated above. But she knew she had to leave. Before she could, though, Hades spoke up.

"What're you doin'?" Hades asked, sounding somewhat drunk, probably due to the bowl to the head.

 _The bowl to the head..._ Margaret remembered what she had done to him on accident. During the feast, she'd accidentally knocked her own district partner cold with a large brass bowl of fruit salad. That was her fault, and that made her feel bad.

 _I can't beat myself up over this,_ she thought. Not if she wanted to win the Hunger Games. She looked over and realized that, while Anna and Horatio were still asleep, Hades was still looking expectantly at her, expecting an answer. Margaret wondered what she was going to say to him.

Eventually, she decided on, "I'm leaving. There's only ten of us left, but I don't want to kill any of you guys. There'll be more food for the rest of you".

Hades blinked. "Well, thass' okay, I guess. I jus' wan' t'know wy".

The guy really was dazed. But she knew what Hades was usually like, and Margaret could tell that, if he had been fully coherent, she'd be in very deep trouble right now. Then again, she'd been in trouble ever since she had entered the arena. No, ever since she had volunteered for the Games. She had no doubt that she could win. But that depended on surviving to the end. And that, right now, depended on getting away from her alliance.

She didn't want to tell Hades anything more than she already had. Not that he was likely to be able to do anything about her leaving, but Margaret didn't want to wake either of the sleeping beasts that could tear her apart if she woke them up. Those sleeping beasts, of course, being Anna Hardy and Horatio Jewel.

Margaret Malachi wordlessly turned around and began jogging down the tunnel, black backpack over her shoulders, Hades gazing groggily at her the whole way.

* * *

The morning of the fifth day.

Two weeks ago, all twenty-four of the adolescents who had entered this maze were still alive. Now, a mere ten of them remained. And, soon enough, nine of the last ten would die.

The alliance of three was done mourning Siliconia, and Aurora and Vair had both realized that Leo was still useful to them. So they decided to keep him around, at least for now. It still hung in the air, unspoken, the fact that the numbers were really going down. How much longer could they go on before they would have to disband, lest they risked being the last three and having to turn on each other.

Vair didn't want to do that. He wasn't necessarily above killing other teenagers to save his own life, but he had poured his blood, sweat, and tears into this alliance for more than two days now. He didn't want to betray them at the last moment; he didn't know if he could live with the guilt. He couldn't leave now; now that he had an alliance, he was too scared to roam endlessly alone in the dark like he had before. But he didn't know how much longer he could stay before he decided that enough was enough.

One thing was clear: suicide was not an option. Vair wanted to win more than anything. He once again wanted to go on runs through District 8 with his sister. He once again wanted to appreciate the feeling of getting home after a long, hard day at work. But then he realized something. If he became the victor, he wouldn't _have_ to work any more. The Capitol would provide him with all of the money he needed, or wanted. But was that really what Vair wanted? He liked the feeling of _working_ for things, not simply having them handed to him on a silver platter.

Despite knowing that the victor's life was not what he wanted, he wasn't going to give up. After all, he still wanted to see his family again, and he would kill as many other kids as he needed to in order for that to happen. And there was no way that he was going to let anyone take that from him.

As they ate their breakfast of Wheat Thins, Vair decided to ask the question that was on all of their minds.

"What should our strategy be going forward?" he asked Aurora and Leo.

"You can leave right now if you want" Aurora said. "We won't stop you. But there are still quite a few mutual threats. The Careers, for one. Maybe we should stay together until they disband".

"That sounds like a good idea to me" Leo said. "If we can maybe get one or two of them out, then that might be a good time to leave. But, like she said, you could leave right now and we won't lift a finger to stop you"

"I don't want to kill you guys" Vair said. "I think that over the past few days, we've become... _friends,_ almost. I feel that, if we hadn't been thrown together by virtue of the Hunger Games, we'd probably be the cool high school clique. And I really wish that this wasn't the case. But unfortunately, reality is reality, and we just have to accept it".

"I know" said Aurora. "That's why we're going to keep our cards in our hand. And then, when the time comes...we'll see who makes their move".

That ominous sentence hung in the air. Someone could betray them at any time. After Aurora had said that, Leo and Vair could not help but get a sinking feeling that this alliance was not going to end with a peaceful separation. There would be blood involved, lots of it.

* * *

"Guys, wake up".

Anna's words roused Horatio, but Hades was still out for the count. It was taking more and more to wake him every morning, and the other Careers didn't know how much longer he had until he went to, well, _Hades_. Horatio, though, was as alert as ever, even if his ego was still through the roof.

"What is it?" Horatio asked sleepily, clearly not happy with having just been woken up. "I was having the best dream ever, in which I had just won the Hunger Games!"

"Well, if you want that dream to become a reality, Horatio, you'll want to listen to me, because something bad just happened" Anna said.

"What was it?"

"Margaret was on watch. I woke up and she's _gone._ Without a trace. She took her backpack and some food. No idea where she went".

"Well, there's no way _to_ find out, since this arena is a fucking _maze!"_ Horatio complained. This irritated Anna even more, since he seemed to think that the world owed him everything, when, in reality, that was not the case.

And, in the end, that was the problem. Horatio Jewel was the most self-righteous person that Anna had ever met, perhaps even more so than Finn. And, Anna had to admit to herself, even he was not that _arrogant._ The only reason Finn had ever abused Anna was because his wife had died giving birth to her. He didn't think he was better than everyone else, just that Anna was _worse_ than everyone else.

Anna tried to push that thought out of her head. After all, there were still ten tributes left, probably spread far and wide across this interlocking network of tunnels, rooms, and traps, and there were plenty of mutual threats remaining. And now, Margaret was at the top of their list. No way they could allow her to make it too deep into the Games.

The two then get set on waking Hades up. The District 2 boy clearly was only getting worse. Anna had thought that with his score of eleven, Hades Blackett was surely better than this, not going to let a little concussion prevent him from functioning effectively in the Hunger Games, but that was clearly what was happening. And Margaret had been right to leave, Anna thought. If Hades died of this, and Margaret had still been there, she might have been betrayed by her own alliance for killing one of their own, even if it was on accident. Someone like that just didn't belong in the Career alliance.

With that understanding, Anna knew that there was another reason that Margaret leaving had been in the District 2 girl's best interest. Less than half of them were left, and, with that in mind, now might be a good time for Anna to kill Horatio when he least expected it.

Again, though, she managed to restrain herself. Horatio Jewel, as much of a self-righteous jerk as he could be, had gotten a nine in training. And, he'd killed a couple of other tributes, so he wasn't _completely_ useless.

She decided to voice these thoughts aloud. "Hey, Horatio?" she said aloud.

"What do you want?" Horatio asked angrily. "I think that you have been expecting quite enough from me today, given that you woke me up at such an ungodly hour".

"I was just wondering. When do you think we should break up the alliance?" It was too late for Anna to turn back now.

"Well, you can leave right now if you want" Horatio said. "I'm not gonna stop you. That would mean more food for me!" At this, he rubbed his stomach as if he was hungry. Which he probably was. They all were. Although they had gotten some pretty good stores from the feast, they had been depleted by the time they went to sleep on the fourth night of the Games. They really wanted some more nourishment in order to keep them going through however long they would have to last.

 _No, not_ we. _Me._

Anna knew that the Careers being in an alliance together was really just pretending that there wasn't a problem with alliances. In the end, only one child could come out of here alive. As Anna looked around at the sandy tunnels all around her, and the circular window high above them, she felt the weight of the thousands of tons of stone and dirt above her, and knew that the Gamemakers could make it all come crashing down on them at any moment. The results would not be healthy.

"I'm not leaving just yet" Anna said. "I still think that the District 9 girl is a threat. She got Eli good at the feast".

"And, of course, we want to get Margaret" Horatio said. "Don't forget about that".

"And Margaret" Anna replied. "I think that we should stay together until both of those girls are dead. Then, let's separate as peacefully as possible".

"But what about Hades?" Horatio asked.

Despite what Anna and Horatio had been discussing, they knew that there was still one more factor that could determine how all of this would play out. Their semiconscious ally was in bad shape, and it didn't feel right to just leave him there like that.

But Anna had never really cared about what was right.

"Let's just give it one more day. Tomorrow morning, no matter how many, or how few, tributes have died today, we'll leave" she said.

Horatio nodded. He seemed to think this was a good idea as well, which made Anna begin to wish that she wasn't going to be leaving her ally soon. But she was a Career, and she was willing to do whatever was necessary in order to win the Hunger Games.

* * *

Vixen had been surviving on her own for quite some time, and was getting more and more adept at it. After all, it wasn't just here that she had been able to find food and shelter. On the streets back home, if she could call it a "home", she'd had plenty of practice with Jack.

Had Vixen been aware that Jack was dead, she most likely would not have been able to carry on with surviving. She might just slit her own throat to join him. But she was scared of death; she didn't know if there really was something that came afterwards, or if it was all just a bunch of made-up stories. Until she had outlasted everyone else in this nightmarish arena, she wouldn't give up.

The previous night, Vixen had had a wonderful dream of District 6. But it wasn't the part of District 6 that she was used to. It was the Victor's Village, where victors and their families lived in great luxury, especially compared to the other people in the districts of Panem. She had dreamed that she had just signed the paperwork to be moved into the new house, practically a mansion, and gotten into the house, where she had proceeded to take a long, hot bath. She had always been sensitive to the cold back home, which probably had something to do with her small stature. Her long, flowing golden-brown hair had not done too much to protect her ears from the frigid weather that was common in the wintertime. It wasn't like District 11, or even District 10. District 6 had one of the coldest climates in Panem.

But that had not mattered. Vixen had taken her bath, brushed her hair, and actually gotten to sleep in a luxurious bed, all the while admiring her turquoise walls. And then, she'd had a dream there too, although she couldn't remember what it had been of.

She'd had a _dream within a dream._ It was pretty cool to think about. But, with clear thinking came the dire realization that it had all been a fantasy. Vixen was not the victor of the 63rd Hunger Games. Not yet, anyway.

She often wondered if dreams had a certain prophetic power. In other words, did what you dreamed about predict the future? On several occasions, Vixen had had a dream that she didn't quite remember in the morning. She wouldn't give it much thought, but then, days or weeks later, she would be in a very specific situation, and she would _know,_ somehow, that she had dreamed about that exact same scenario. Maybe that would be what happened a week or so from now.

She could only hope...

* * *

It was probably about six in the morning when Horatio came to a realization.

Things weren't getting anywhere. He wanted to be moving around, playing an active role in making his dream of winning the Hunger Games become a reality. But that wasn't going to happen if he wasn't out hunting.

And he couldn't go out hunting right now, for Anna insisted that they stay with Hades until the next day, when they would leave and go their separate ways. And then, the next time they saw each other, they would be enemies, with no reservations whatsoever about brutally killing each other.

Needless to say, this irked Horatio to no end. After what must have been several hours of lying restlessly in his sleeping bag, a thought came to his head. At first, it was a crazy a thought to have: why would he do it, after all that they had done for each other in this alliance? But the more he thought about it, the more it made perfect sense. He was definitely awesome enough to be able to nail it down successfully. And he knew, as well, that he was more than brave enough. What Horatio didn't realize was just how much of an idiot he was sometimes, due to his uncontrollable ego.

They would never see it coming. And then he, Horatio Jewel, would be one step closer to being the greatest victor of all time.

* * *

Bryson had woken up earlier than he had expected. Of course, he had no way of knowing this for sure, given that the tower did not have a window, or a clock, or anything he could use to tell if it was day or night. But something told him that he hadn't slept for as long as he normally would have, had he been back at home in District 10, or even in the labyrinthine arena.

Maybe it had to do with his infection, which was constantly causing him pain. Or maybe it was related to the excitement he felt at the notion that he could quite possibly cure it if he just solved the mystery of this tower, whatever that happened to be.

In any case, he decided that the time was ripe to see what that plaque said, and if it could help him any. He could certainly use some help right about now.

Bryson limped towards the statue. When he was about five feet away, he read the golden letters on it that read the following:

 _Congratulations, tribute. You are getting closer to what you seek. In order to receive it, you must solve the puzzles and riddles contained within this, the Riddle Tower. If you do that, and come back up here, as well as speak the words, "SNOWLUCARIO IS THE BEST AUTHOR IN THE WORLD!", you will get it. You will be cured of what ails you._

Bryson was ecstatic at this. Of course, he strongly suspected that it was some sort of trap. Nothing ever came that easily in a Hunger Games arena. He'd been forced to view enough years of the Games to know that the Gamemakers would most likely be setting something against him, considering that he hadn't spoken to another human being since the very start of the Games.

But Bryson was desperate. He didn't think that he really had that much to lose. His left leg sure appeared that way. In addition, Bryson had become severely dehydrated in the maze. On the third day, he'd been sponsored a one-liter water bottle from an anonymous person called "SnowLucario". Now that he thought about it, he noticed that that was the same name on the statue. Maybe this SnowLucario person expected something from him in exchange for the healing.

Even with the water he had been sponsored, he was bad off. If he had walked into an emergency department of a hospital, they would have taken one look at him and immediately hooked him up to an IV. He was _that_ dehydrated. _And it'd probably take ten tries to find a vein,_ Bryson thought bitterly. His brain felt like a bag of rocks, with the constant, throbbing headaches that were plaguing him.

But he could still find the strength to make it down the stairs. Now, the only question was, could Bryson solve the riddles of this tower?

* * *

He decided to tackle the door nearest the spiral staircase on the bottom floor first. He didn't know what to expect inside. But what he saw stumped him.

It was a slide puzzle of a map of Panem. There was District 11 in the southeastern part of the country, District 7 in the far northwestern region, and Bryson's own district, District 10, was clearly in the southwestern part. That was what the model looked like. Bryson's puzzle, on the other hand, was all mixed up, just as he should have expected it to be.

Bryson had never done a slide puzzle before. He'd just never learned how. He found himself feverishly moving pieces, not caring where they went, hoping that he was making _some_ sort of progress. Eventually, he decided to try to focus on getting one row done at a time, then a column at the edge, and so on and so forth.

It didn't take long for him to realize that this was definitely the optimal strategy for solving a slide puzzle. Before long, he had gotten all of the pieces of the bottom row in line, so that he could simply slide them into place that way. And, once that was done, Bryson set to work on the perpendicular right-hand column. This was even quicker, because there were fewer pieces left that he could slide in there. The puzzle got simpler and simpler with every step, so the speed of Bryson's solving sped up with each row and column that he completed.

Finally, the whole thing was done. Bryson stood back to admire his work. He wondered exactly _what_ it was going to do, waiting for the star-shaped hole to spit out some kind of mutt at him. Instead, a star-shaped key dropped out in front of him. Immediately, Bryson knew what to do with it.

He limped back up the stairs and placed the key in its position.

 _One down, seven to go._

* * *

Margaret didn't look back for a while. She hoped that neither Horatio nor Anna were following her down the tunnel she had chosen. If they were, though, she could use her katana to kill them.

She was very glad that she had brought plenty of food with her, because she didn't know how long she would need to make it last. It was better to be prepared for as many different eventualities as possible, and Margaret was trying not to cut any corners. If she did, she might not live to regret it.

Now, she was making her way down a skinny orange tunnel that rose up and down. She was constantly on guard, waiting for an attack from anyone.

But it didn't come.

Margaret decided to sit down and have some breakfast. The bagels were getting a little stale, but it was all still edible, for which she was grateful. Expired food would be worse than no food at all.

 _I still think I could pull this thing off,_ Margaret thought.

She sure could. She would show that she hadn't gotten a training score of ten for nothing. She would make the Capitol citizens fall all over themselves to sponsor her. And then, she would do anything she needed to in order to narrow down the field from ten to one. Nothing could go wrong with _that_ plan.

Well, there were _some_ things that could go wrong, but Margaret decided to think on the bright side. She had a backpack full of food, and a powerful weapon that she was very proficient with. She was most likely doing better than any other tributes remaining in the arena. She could definitely use that to her advantage.

Things were definitely working in her favor. Which was why Margaret couldn't shake the sinking feeling that it was all going to come crashing down.

* * *

Horatio was fast losing patience with Anna. He wanted nothing more than to kill that girl. And, when it was done, he would kill Hades as well, helpless and confused in his sleeping bag. Then, he'd take all of their supplies and make sure that no tributes were stalking him, not like that was likely.

He had to wait for the right moment, though, when the District 4 girl was least expecting it. Otherwise, he wouldn't live to regret it. But Horatio was so amazing that he could never fail at that, if he attempted it. He _would_ succeed, no matter what happened.

And so Horatio agonizingly waited. One hour, two hours...it must have been about midday by the time he finally found an opening.

Horatio took out his mace and snuck up behind Anna. He knew that it wouldn't be a clean kill- he'd have a lot of Anna's blood on his hands. And not just _metaphorical_ blood. _Literal_ blood. But he didn't care. He just wanted to win the Games. He felt that the universe owed it to his amazingly awesome blonde head to allow him to get a luxurious Victor's Village mansion.

Clearly, his ego was out of control. But, as said before, he just didn't care about it. He just wanted to kill Anna. That was his number one goal, and he was going to do everything possible to achieve it.

Without thinking, he swung his mace. Anna must have heard it somehow, because she managed to duck and intercept it with her own knife. Horatio now was forced to duck in order to not get his skull bashed in.

"Did you _really_ think you could get away with that, Jewel?" Anna hissed.

She turned around to face him, her cold blue eyes staring into his. She jabbed a knife at Horatio's heart, but Horatio parried it with his mace, trying to get a headshot on Anna.

At that point, it was clear; the fight would end with one of them dead. And the other was likely to then take control of the game. The former allies both stared daggers at each other, looking for some way to gain an advantage.

Horatio made the first move. He swung his mace at Anna's head. She managed to block it, and it instead hit her in the shoulder. She staggered backwards, meaning that she was clearly not in a good position to win this fight. And Horatio took full advantage of that.

He bashed his mace into Anna's stomach. It missed her heart by inches, and she collapsed from it. But then she managed to get back up almost as quickly as she had gone down. She was then back on the offensive, and it was all Horatio could do, in his awesomeness, to keep attacking.

Eventually, though, Horatio managed to disarm Anna, and then he picked up the knife that fell on the ground before she could. He wasn't the most skilled with a knife, because maces were by far a more befitting weapon for someone as amazing as he was. He hadn't had much practice. Even so, he still had the upper hand on the District 4 girl, since she had nothing at all to defend herself with.

And then, sure enough, Horatio stabbed her through the heart. Blood spurted everywhere.

All Anna could think about was, _This is really happening...betrayed by my own_ ally... _I've failed my district. This is_ not _how I imagined things going at all..._

And then, Anna's mind was quiet. The cannon fired to announce her death.

Horatio pumped his fist, hissing, "Yes!" He'd gotten one down, and then he realized: He now had a golden opportunity.

He'd planned on staying with his fellow H-boy for a little longer than this. But, clearly, the District 2 boy was no longer useful, with his concussion and infected wound. Hades wasn't long for this world, in any case. And then, Horatio would have an even better chance at winning. Of course, his chances of winning had always been a hundred percent, but now they were fast approaching 200%. From his perspective, anyways.

Horatio lunged at Hades, who was still semiconscious. The older boy barely made any sound as the knife pierced his jugular. Blood spurted everywhere, and Horatio laughed at just how pitifully easy it was to overcome Hades Blackett, the abusive boyfriend from District 2. The cannon fired, and Horatio now knew one thing.

He was going to win these Games.

* * *

Conker, meanwhile, was not feeling nearly as confident.

He had been an alcoholic for several years, and right now, things weren't looking too good for his chances of winning. Nobody had bothered to sponsor him yet. Not that he could blame them, in any case. He'd never had any chance at all. And, now that it was the fifth day, he was honestly surprised that he had survived this long. Surely, Berry was proud of him back home in District 7.

But right now, he couldn't focus on that too much. The fact was, he was currently in a purple tunnel studded with green gemstones, and it honestly looked very eerie. He didn't want to stay in this corridor for too long, but he didn't know how far he would have to walk until he reached a fork in the road. He had no doubt that the Gamemakers would force something on him to break the pattern. They always did, if a tribute avoided interacting with the others for too long. For now, he'd probably just entertained the Capitol well enough by showing that he was a hapless drunk who would never amount to anything in these Games.

But now, he'd have to show them that Conker Badd Furrday was still worth watching. Not that he had ever been a contender, but at least he provided some comic relief.

So, as he wandered aimlessly down this tunnel, he tried to make jokes. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything good to crack. And the more dire the situation got, the harder it became for him to just relax. Right now, he should just be focused on _survival._ Yes, that was what he should be trying to do.

He was so focused on his own survival that, ironically, he ended up doing the very thing that was the most _detrimenta_ l to his survival. He wasn't looking where he was going carefully enough, and, before he knew it, his right foot met nothing but air.

He fell down, far down. He was twitching around in midair, screaming, wondering if there was an end to this pit- or if this pit was the _end_ of him.

That is, until he got impaled on a bed of spikes.

* * *

 **That's it for the chapter! The longest one of the Games so far. It's not as long as "Bainbridge's Boredom", but it's still a very respectable length, the second longest chapter that I have ever written. Anyways...**

 **RIP Anna, Hades, and Conker**

 **Anna: I think that she was an interesting character. She was a very cruel and brutal Career, and her training score definitely showed that. At the same time, though, she had a pretty sad background, with her mother dead and a "very tense" relationship with her father. I know that that doesn't necessarily mean abuse, but I decided that that might make the story more interesting. I also liked writing her feelings for Eli after he died. At least she's with him now. Her creator has the most tributes in this story, with five. In fact, he also created this guy...**

 **Hades: I LOVED writing this guy! He was a stereotypically emotionless Career, just like Cato from the actual canon. I initially planned to have him be out in seventh, after killing Anna in eighth. But then, after writing the whole feast scene, I realized that this would be a fitting** **end for him. I liked how he was transformed into being practically helpless before the end, and you could kind of see his death coming. You might think that he would have survived longer, given that he's a Career. In this case, though, he wasn't so lucky. I also liked writing the whole thing about him being an abusive boyfriend, and Sophie revealing it on camera. I don't know what would have happened had he been declared victor (although, realistically, the Gamemakers would have killed him off long before that). The Capitol audience would most likely not want to let Hades Blackett, the designated "villain" of the 63rd Hunger Games, win. Simply because they wouldn't _want_ him to. I recommend watching the Film Theory about how to win the Hunger Games. It is VERY interesting.**

 **Conker: He was another one of my own tributes. I thought that writing him was very funny, given that he's based on a character from an extremely racy N64 game that is often considered to be one of the best ever. Conker the squirrel is also an alcoholic, and he also has a girlfriend named Berry. I also thought that this was a good way for him to die, not paying attention to where he was going. Of course, that IS pretty painful to be impaled on a bed of spikes, I would imagine. But, considering I created him, he never had a chance. Not one. Especially considering his training score.**

 **So, we've gone from 10 to 7 tributes. I think that there will be four more chapters of the Games, then one about the announcement of the victor (whose creator has been made aware that their tribute will win), and the victory tour, and one about how Johan Bainbridge died. That's going to be my plan. For each one of these I write, there will be a new Head Gamemaker, and the last chapter will always be about how the HG died. I think that's an ominous note to end it on, which is always a good thing, I think.**

 **Also, did you like the little mention to myself in the mysterious tower Bryson has found himself in? I think it's pretty funny, to make him proclaim that I am the best author in the world. Sometimes, my ego is even greater than Horatio's.**

 **We're getting close to the end, guys! Please leave a review, that would be greatly appreciated. And, until next time, this has been SnowLucario!**


	25. Rainbow Colored Light

**All right, guys, we're nearing the end! There are only going to be a couple more chapters left of the story, and then the arena reaping will take place. I'm very glad that I'm getting close, because then Iw can finally see people's' reaction to the victor. I hope that my choice of who wins will please you. Although I have not written any chapters beyond what is already posted, I DO know who is going to win. And the planned final battle is also going to be epic. But I'm not telling!**

 **With that out of the way, how about a quick SnowLucario Story Time:**

 **Today, while walking with my mother, we happened to come across an art studio. Mom held the dog while I went inside to explore. I told a young woman there that I was on DeviantArt, and asked her what her username was. I don't remember what she said, but I told her I was SnowLucario, and that I also wrote fanfiction. I may have said this before, but unlike many of my brethren on this site, I do not have any problem promoting my work in real life.**

 **Brief recap:**

 **Horatio is on his own with tons of supplies**

 **Margaret is also on her own**

 **Leo, Aurora, and Vair are still together**

 **Vixen is somewhere else, alone**

 **Bryson is trying to solve the riddles of the tower**

 **Okay. Now, it's time for the real story.**

* * *

Bryson was on a roll.

He'd already solved three of the eight puzzles in the tower, and was in the process of working on his fourth, when he heard two cannons go off. This stopped him in his tracks, in the middle of the 256-space sudoku puzzle that he had been working on.

Two people dead in a row. This made him feel a little better about how things were going. Now that the field had been narrowed from ten to eight, it seemed more and more possible that he might just be able to outlast the others and win these Games.

Of course, he wasn't there yet. And his odds were still slim, considering just how hard it was for him to walk. But the point was, the Grim Reaper was busy today, at least when it came to this arena. Two cannons in a row rendered it likely that it had been the Careers, or some other alliance, that had decided that it was a good time to turn on each other. If they were truly at the final ten now- _final eight,_ he corrected himself, then now did seem to be a good time to disband.

As he struggled to figure out where to place a number eight in the grid, he wondered what would happen if he managed to solve all eight of the puzzles, and then collet all of the keys. He had no doubt that it was going to be something good, because if the Gamemakers wanted to kill him, they wouldn't have gone to all of this effort to put this whole tower here and set up all of those puzzles. That would just be a trollish thing to do. And, the last time Bryson had checked (not that he really _could_ check such a thing), the Gamemakers didn't live under a bridge.

Not five minutes after the pair of cannons had rung out, a third one boomed.

 _Happy trails! This is awesome!_

Bryson's odds had just shot up from one in eight to one in seven. No, from one in ten. Or even more, considering that he had not had a chance before. And now, he did. All he had to do was figure out how to solve the last four puzzles in the tower, because he was damn close to getting this one down. All he had to do was put in that last stubborn eleven.

He found a spot that fit, and watched the star-shaped key slide out. He grasped it in his hand and then put it in his pocket. Bryson was careful not to lose track of these keys. But then, he realized that he would need to walk back up the stairs to solve the last four puzzles.

 _Well, I might as well go all the way up and fit these four in, and then come back down to the second floor for the other four puzzles._

That was what Bryson had decided to do. He wanted to make sure that he was secure of at least four keys before he went to fully complete all eight of the challenges that this tower had set up for him.

The trip back up was three times harder than it had been the first time, but Bryson managed it, holding onto the railing the entire time like a drunken patron at a bar. When he reached the top, he put in his four keys and looked at the plaque again, confirming that he hadn't been hallucinating the first time. Otherwise, he would have wasted the last several hours. And, if there was one thing Bryson didn't like, it was time wasters. They never accomplished anything, and District 10 was used to a very utilitarian way of life. If something wasn't useful to the greatest amount of people, it had to go, no questions asked.

If Bryson had simply been wasting the precious little time he had left, he would be a very big hypocrite. And that was another thing that was frowned upon back where he was from.

 _That SnowLucario guy had better not be fucking around with me..._ he thought.

Had Bryson not been so desperate, he would have seen that this SnowLucario fellow was unlikely to be a friendly entity. The Gamemakers had obviously put this here as a trap. But Bryson had tunnel vision, and it was such a narrow tunnel that it left little room for common sense.

* * *

Elsewhere, in a Capitol basement, a teenaged boy was working on the tower. He was hacking into the Hunger Games, and he had programmed this tower into the Labyrinth to make things more interesting. He laughed.

Man, it was a hot day today. So hot, in fact, that the hacker was only wearing green plaid pajama pants and no shirt. He was not unhappy, though. He was very satisfied with what was going on within his plans to hijack the arena. His long, skinny arms danced across the computer keyboard, making sure that the correct codes were inputted in order to set this up.

Yes, he might be in big trouble if he was caught. But he'd probably also be praised for making the Games more interesting. So maybe he wouldn't be executed at all. Maybe, instead, he would be rewarded, and would be made famous in the Capitol. Because all he wanted was recognition.

The hacker boy beat his chest in satisfaction, just like Donkey Kong. And he would make sure that these Hunger Games would be the best yet. And the hacker boy laughed.

For he was the person known as SnowLucario. And that would make him the richest man in Panem. Already, he had an evil glint in his cold, glacial blue eyes.

This was going to _epic!_

* * *

Meanwhile, Vixen was withering away. She had had very little food ever since she had ended up in these Games. Already slight, with very little extra weight, she had little or no wiggle room until she would simply be a bag of bones. She couldn't tip the scale at eighty pounds soaking wet back in District 6. Now, she estimated that she'd lost at least five pounds in these Games.

It had to end soon, or she would die of starvation. She had run out of food two days ago, despite trying her best to conserve it. And Vixen desperately wanted to win these Games, so she had to continue trucking and evading other tributes. That had been her strategy all along, and now it was most likely to become increasingly difficult for her to pull off.

After all, there were only seven left if she was counting correctly. The Gamemakers wouldn't want to let this last too long, and Vixen wasn't interesting to watch for too long. They would only show her long enough for people to know that she was still alive and quickly starving. And, if there were still any alliances in these Games or not, there would be less to cut to. Indirectly, more people dying helped Vixen survive, other than the fact that she had to be the last one left to live.

Vixen didn't feel guilty for having these thoughts. One way or another, she was going to win the Hunger Games. And then, she'd try to make her dream come true.

* * *

The alliance of three was still intact, but Aurora wondered whether or not it would be a good idea to dissolve soon.

"Hey, Leo?" she asked the District 3 boy.

"What is it?" he asked her back. Leo had a sinking feeling of what the District 9 girl wanted to tell him, but he didn't say it. The air between them was heavy with what remained unspoken.

"Do you think that it's time to disband?" she asked. "After all, there are only seven of us left. And an alliance of three really can't last that much longer. Eventually, we'd have to turn on each other. And I don't want that to happen".

"Well...I think maybe we can ditch Vair and stay together. But it's your call, I guess".

"My heart tells me that I want to stay with you, but my head tells me that I should leave. And with numbers being as low as they are, the Gamemakers are going to want to drive us at each other's throats. Also, I think that Vair is too big of a threat to let live until the end".

"Wait" Leo said. "Are you telling me that we should _kill Vair now?_ I thought that you wanted to separate peacefully".

"I did" Aurora said. "But I've put more thought into it, and I've decided that we should get rid of him".

The District 8 boy was sleeping in, exhausted from staying on guard for most of the night. The guy ran so fast that he was no doubt bushed by now, and even the three cannons hadn't woken him up.

"And then, are we gonna stay together or not?"

"I don't know, but I'd really like to play it alone from here on out. I don't want to end up killing you" Aurora responded.

"I agree" Leo said. "Now that you mention it, let's kill Vair".

Vair had been dead to the world, to the point that even the cannons could not arouse him from his slumber. But, somehow, two teenagers talking quietly about murdering him caused him to stir. Vair immediately reached for a weapon, before realizing that he had none.

"Did you just say what I thought you said?" he growled. "Are you or are you not planning to kill me?"

"It's nothing personal, Vair" Aurora said, holding her hands up as if she was getting arrested. "We just think you're too fast, and too big a threat to allow to get this close to the end".

"But we're not close to the end" Vair responded curtly. "There're still ten left".

"Three cannons fired while you were asleep" Leo said. "There's just seven now. And it's like Aurora said, we just can't allow you to make it too deep into these Games".

"That sounds pretty fucking personal to me!" Vair yelled. He didn't care if the Careers heard him. All he knew was that he was very angry at these other two for plotting against him. More angry than he had ever been at anyone else in his entire life.

Without saying anything, Vair grabbed at Aurora, feeling around for one of her knives. Realizing it had to be in her backpack, he hung onto the older girl and zipped it open. Grabbing the knife, he attempted to plunge it into Aurora's skull.

However, Aurora was ready. She held up her hand to block it, and it only grazed her right hand. Thankfully, she was left-handed.

Instead, Vair was the one on the defensive.

"Leo and I will handle this!" Vair shouted. Aurora looked like she was about to protest, but Leo was like, "It's okay, Wheatgirl. Uncle Leo's got this guy in the bag!"

Leo came out swinging with his wrench, but Vair blocked it easily with the knife. Then, Vair threw Aurora's knife at Leo, which barely missed his leg.

Aurora took the opportunity to get away. She didn't want to be in such a dangerous place with two boys duking it out. So, she ran.

 _There is no way that they'll kill each other,_ she thought. _It was all just a misunderstanding. A gigantic misunderstanding that could cause a lot of needless deaths..._

* * *

But the cannon said otherwise. Aurora stiffened up and sobbed. She was several hundred yards away now, and not worried about Vair hearing her. But if he did, let him. Aurora had gone from loving Vair to hating him, in less than five minutes.

It was crazy how things went in these Games.

* * *

In the meantime, Margaret was trekking through a hot section of tunnel.

This was _very_ hot, indeed. It made District 2 in the height of summer seem like a winter wonderland. As Margaret walked down a fenced path next to a pool of bright orange lava, she felt puddles of sweat run down her neck. She wished she'd thought to pack more water before leaving that morning.

It had been about five hours since the trio of cannons had fired, and three hours since the last one. Margaret had downed both of the water bottles she had brought along with her before an hour ago. Now, her throat was becoming increasingly dry. It became harder and harder to catch her breath. But still, she pressed on.

She figured that her biggest remaining threat was Horatio, since he was the one other Career still in the running. She feared him, but also hoped that he feared _her._ She didn't regret her decision to leave the alliance, though. If she had stayed, she was likely to end up dead, considering that the others no doubt held a grudge against her for concussing Hades with that giant brass bowl of fruit salad.

That was Margaret's biggest regret. She had been intending to hit Vair with the salad, not her own ally! But there was nothing she could do about it now.

If only she could find Horatio and end his life, she would have cleared her biggest obstacle to winning these Hunger Games. It was no longer just about the money and fame; she wanted to live.

* * *

That night, the sky showed images of Hades, Leo, Anna, and Conker.

 _Only two Careers left,_ Bryson thought. _And only six total._

He was definitely very glad that he was in the top twenty-five percent. But he simply wanted to get to the end, and he'd been doing everything possible to achieve that. Right now, that was working on the puzzles of this tower. He'd gotten all but one of them down. The final one was a crossword of past victors.

It was difficult to fit in Channa, Kalin, and Buck. He kept looking for different places to put them, but they seemed evasive. Bryson remembered Buck the best, despite him winning the 44th Games, two years before Bryson had been born. Buck McBride, the District 10 male, had gone the whole game without killing a single other tribute, only to be blown into the air by an explosion and land, unconscious, on the rocks far below. He'd managed to survive longer than everyone else, though. But he was so severely injured that he had lost his memory of the previous several weeks.

Now, Buck lived a boring, crummy existence in the Victor's Village with his older brother. Bryson knew that that might become _him_ if he won.

 _No. I'll still have my family, assuming the Capitol doesn't kill them._

And really, why would they? Bryson hadn't said anything particularly blasphemous against the Capitol during his time in the Games. Only thought it.

Putting that thought out of his head, he fit Kalin's name in and completed the puzzle. He was glad to retrieve the last star-shaped key and get on his way.

That last, limping climb back up the stairs was hell on Bryson's legs. But he managed it, and inserted the four keys into their respective pedestals, managing not to pass out in the process. Now, there was only one thing left to do. Reading the statue through his watering eyes, he managed to make out the words that he was supposed to exclaim.

Bryson bellowed, still not knowing who this mysterious person was, " _SNOWLUCARIO IS THE BEST AUTHOR IN THE WORLD!"_

He'd known that this might backfire. But at this point, Bryson knew that he was nearing the end anyway. Better to try something desperate and hope it worked than allow himself to die painfully by way of infection.

For a very agonizing ten seconds, nothing happened. Bryson was wondering if this whole tower had been placed here in order to play a trick on him. But eventually, there was a heaven-rending sound that engulfed the whole room. Bryson wondered what the fuck this was all about. Had he been wasting the precious little time he had left, considering the severity of the infection?

But suddenly, there was a rainbow light that lit up the whole area. It was so dazzling that it brought Bryson to his knees, as if he was praying to a deity. But that was not what he was doing at all.

In fact, Bryson had never made the conscious decision to kneel. Reason being, he _was_ no longer conscious. His heart had stopped beating, as well as all other biological processes. His body keeled over and lay on the ground, like a large welcome mat.

Bryson Holstein was dead.

* * *

 **I give full credit to twilitprincess, AKA Hoprocker, for creation of the characters of Champagne "Channa" Bordeaux, Kalin Barry, and Buck McBride. I highly recommend reading her Hunger Games stories, as I seriously believe that they should be taught in high-school English class. For reals.**

 **I know that was really short. Sorry about that. I was feeling a bit burnt out, and I wanted to get out another chapter today because I don't know when the next one will be. Anyways...**

 **RIP Leo and Bryson**

 **Leo: He was initially supposed to only be allied with Siliconia, and come in 9th, dying immediately after his district partner when they were both ambushed by the Careers. Even though he moved up two places, I created this guy, so he was destined to lose. And, as I have said before, he was based off of Leo Valdez, the son of Hephaestus from the _Heroes Of Olympus_ series. It was very fun to write him into the story as if he was that character, and I have no regrets about how I portrayed him. Writing the trap scene with the Careers was also very fun. In the end, though, he got turned on by his own ally. And that's the way things go. Unfortunately, unlike the Leo from the actual books, this Leo is not coming back to life. Sorry, guys. I know, all da ladies luv Leo. In terms of the designated "goofball" of this story, that goes to this guy...**

 **Bryson: I loved this guy as soon as his creator said that he came from an upper-class family. That's not common in District 10, and I immediately knew that a flirtatious goofball was going to be interesting. I was initially going to have him come in 15th, then 8th, and then I decided to save him until sixth in order to give him this death. Speaking of which, I really trolled you guys with that Riddle Tower thing, huh? In your reviews of this chapter, I want you guys to tell me if you were hoodwinked by that. I also loved writing his scene with the bottomless pit. I really pictured something from _Star Wars_ with that. I thought that that was cool, but Bryson did think to himself a lot. But that's what writing for loners is like.**

 **Okay. I once again apologize for the short chapter. The next one will be much longer, however. I won't say what happens. However, I _will_ say that, by the end of that chapter, the final battle will be set up. And, with that...**

 **SnowLucario out.**


	26. A Trio Of Unfortunate Events

**This is it, guys: the preantepenultimate chapter of** ** _Labyrinth._** **That means fourth to last, for those who do not like big, fancy words. Sorry, but I am a word connoisseur.**

 **This chapter is going to be EPIC. It's pretty long, and three of the five remaining tributes are going to lose their lives. That is going to be awesome. And then, we'll be set up for the final battle! At the end of this chapter, the deaths are not listed, because I do not want to ruin the moment.**

 **One last thing: WritingReviews99, I notice that you said I'd seen How To Survive The Hunger Games. I would PM you, but, unfortunately, you're a guest, so you either need to log in, create an account, or just accept that I can't answer that. It still makes my day when guests review, though.**

 **With that out of the way, let's get going!**

* * *

Horatio figured he was invincible. He was in the final five, and, because he had slaughtered two of the other Careers, he commandeered everything that they had had, which included food and weapons. He would stay well-fed and hydrated for a lot longer than any of his competition. This really put him in a good spot. Also, there was only Margaret left of the former Career alliance, and Horatio had absolutely no doubt that he could take her in a fight, considering she had less than he did.

What could go wrong?

As it turned out, more than he had thought. But we'll get into that later.

As he strode proudly down the tunnels of the deeper levels of the Labyrinth, Horatio was constantly flicking his golden hair back and forth. Despite this, he was very proud of the way he must have looked to the Capitol audience. He was covered in grime from five days underground, and he doubted that the people would care. They'd still be falling all over themselves in order to be his girlfriend. Unlike Hades, he was still single, and he couldn't imagine why.

Of course, had he been more self-aware, he would have realized that the reason for this was because he _thought_ he would make a good boyfriend. In other words, he was arrogant, stupid, and stupidly arrogant. But Horatio did not realize this. And, the longer he survived in these Games, the more arrogant he became. He was _born_ for this.

It had been a very long time since the anthem, and Horatio was guessing that it might have been as late as five in the morning. Despite this, he wasn't too tired. He was hyped up on adrenaline, and his bloodlust, and excitement, would keep him going better than any coffee, or other type of stimulant, possibly could. Which was a good thing, since the anthem had betrayed that it had been a deadly day in the arena. Five tributes had died, half of who had been left at the start of Day 5.

Horatio ended up in a tunnel that was painted white. As he kicked down doors and jumped over ones in his path, he reflected on the other four tributes left.

Margaret from District 2 was definitely his biggest threat, but that wasn't really saying that much. Even though she had beaten him in training, Horatio knew that that was only because she had a better weapon, and had simply just had better luck. He had no doubt that right now, he was in a better position than her to win these Games. And _now_ was the only time that mattered.

Vixen from District 6. Surely, she was resilient, and she'd had a surprising amount of staying power considering her small size. Even so, if it came down to a full-out brawl, Horatio had no doubt that he would win. He was just that awesome, and Vixen was, like Margaret, most likely starving and dehydrated.

As for District 8's Vair, how the fuck was he even still alive? He'd only gotten a two in training, and, based on the feast, he did not seem to be an instigator, instead hanging off to the side and munching on muffins. Seriously, Horatio thought he was not a threat at all.

That left Aurora of District 9. She was the one who Horatio was the least not-worried about. She wasn't a Career by any means, but she'd still earned an impressive eight in training. Even with that, though, Horatio knew that she was unlikely to have as much sustenance as he, and he would beat that farm girl into a plowshare.

Based on those calculations, Horatio had reason to be optimistic. There was one thing that he hadn't taken into account. But, again, we'll get into that later.

The District 1 boy kicked down more doors until he reached a new tunnel, whooping out loud at the change in scenery.

Now, he was in what appeared to be a mining tunnel, with what looked similar to tracks that a mine cart would be on. Based on that, he wondered if a mine cart would be nearby. He _was_ getting a little tired having to go on foot all this way. He just wished that this arena was logical, but _no._ He had to wander like a mole rat through this massive underground maze until he found another tribute to kill. It was extremely frustrating to someone like Horatio Jewel, who felt that the Gamemakers owed him everything.

It wasn't long until Horatio found what he had been looking for. A mine cart with a large W on the side was locked in place, and Horatio immediately set about trying to dislodge it from its fixed position. His sweaty hands made it a little more difficult to do anything with too much precision, but the boy was strong.

Before long, he had unfastened the mine cart from where it was at, but had to use all of its strength to stop it from rolling downhill. As he did that, he climbed into the cart. He was ready to go for a ride!

He inched the cart forward by scooting as if he was...let's not get into that. Then, it reached the crest of the hill, and he was off.

The wind was in his face, something he hadn't felt for nearly a week. He'd been on roller coasters before, but this was something different entirely. The weightless feeling in your stomach was only heightened, something Horatio liked, when there was nothing to hold you back except the tracks, and nothing, not even Horatio himself, was fastened down. In any other situation, this would be exceptionally dangerous. However, he felt that he and the arena had come to a mutual understanding: that Horatio Jewel deserved to win the 63rd Hunger Games, and anything and anyone that would get in his way had to be eliminated.

The mine cart rolled down the track, reaching speeds of up to fifty miles an hour. Horatio held onto the sides for dear life, but he had never had so much fun in his whole life. Things were really looking up for him. Not that he had ever been pessimistic about his chances of winning. But he was feeling better than ever about his prospects, already daydreaming about his outfit that he would wear sitting next to Caesar Flickerman. Something crimson would go well with the golden victor's crown, he thought. Yes, that sounded good.

He tried not to dwell on it for too long. For now, he just tried to enjoy the mine cart ride. He didn't know how much farther he had until the end of the line, but he was determined to make the most of every millisecond.

* * *

It must have been ten minutes by the time the car came to an abrupt stop, and Horatio was thrown forwards, making a complete somersault in midair before landing spread-eagled on the ground. Thankfully, nothing was broken, and he didn't have many aches or bruises. After quickly taking inventory, he continued down the tracks, going deeper and deeper into the mine. The mine was filled with gold, and he felt that this was a very fitting place for him to win the Games. Should he just stay here, until someone else came by?

Why not? He had all of the food he would need, for several days at least. And the Gamemakers would surely lead tributes to him, this bright golden beacon. Yes, that was him. Horatio Jewel. The Golden Boy. And, soon, he would be the Capitol's golden boy. That was what had kept him going all night, this as well as the adrenaline he had gotten from killing Anna and Hades.

He didn't feel bad about killing. After all, that was what he was born to do. And, after all, the other Careers killed as well, and, if you wanted to have a chance in these Games, you had to be willing to murder innocent teenagers. Otherwise, there was no way you could win. Except for that District 10 guy from nineteen years ago, Buck, and maybe a few others farther back, all of the other victors had killed, directly or indirectly, the other tribute with them in the final two. That was just the way it worked.

So Horatio decided to wait out the others. They would be wandering into a trap if they got within ten yards of him. And he figured he was cleverly concealed.

Unbeknownst to Horatio, something else was watching him. It wasn't another tribute. Its large eyes peered at him from through a window that overlooked the tunnel he was currently in, with the mine cart and the tracks. And it had its eyes on its target. It was ready to pounce on the unsuspecting District 1 boy.

* * *

What must have been two or three hours later, Horatio was enjoying a breakfast of bagels, apples, and toast when he heard something big behind him. He dismissed it at first, thinking that his normally perfect ears must have been hallucinating. That could possibly happen sometimes. Maybe once in a millennium. There was no possibility that anything that could possibly kill him was anywhere near him. He was perfectly safe.

And then, he looked behind him, and realized that he hadn't been imagining the sound. What it was made Horatio literally wet his pants.

A giant bull-man at least ten feet tall was standing over him, about ready to tear Horatio's intestines out. At least, that was what it looked like based on his expression. Horatio went from completely confident that he was going to win to only 50% confident that he could get out of this situation alive. The bull-man looked tough.

Horatio was aware of this beast's proper name: _Minotaur._ It was half-man, half-bull, and had been imprisoned in the Labyrinth in order to kill the children of Athens, according to Greek mythology. It was also in the Percy Jackson books, which Horatio had read while he was younger. He had always pictured Apollo as looking like a slightly less handsome version of himself.

Anyway, that didn't matter right now. Horatio drew his mace, warm yellow urine running down his legs. He swung at the Minotaur, trying to reach its heart, or at least its brain. He didn't know which would be more effective at killing it. His attacks, however, were only seeming to make the monster angrier.

The Minotaur swung his claws at Horatio. It ripped slightly through his purple shirt, and left some marks on his chest. It stung a little bit, but that was the least of Horatio's worries. After all, the Capitol could heal it right up if he won. So Horatio put all of his energy into fighting the monster right now.

Horatio swung his morning star once again, but the Minotaur was ready. It rolled out of the way as if it had been a quarter of its size. Then, it jerked out its beefy arm and snagged Horatio, lifting him off his feet.

Horatio tried to fight against the monster's grip, but it was becoming more and more difficult. The more he wriggled, the tighter the Minotaur's grip seemed to become. Even Horatio's awesome, lean body couldn't manage to find its way out of the Minotaur's fist. And it was bringing him up, up, and further upward.

Suddenly, everything around Horatio went dark. That is, darker than it had been before. And the walls around him seemed to have changed into a purplish-red color. It took a few seconds for him to realize what had just happened.

"Hey, Minotaur! Don't eat me! I taste terrible!" Horatio yelled, hoping against hope that something he could say would be able to convince the Minotaur to spit him out.

"You'll get e coli! And norovirus! And meningitis! And pretty much every other disease under the sun! JUST DON'T FUCKING EAT ME!" Horatio was pleading with the monster, trying to get him to realize just how bad an idea it was to eat him.

Eventually, finding himself in what might have been the Minotaur's stomach, Horatio realized he was not getting out of this alive. And, most likely, his body wasn't either. Instead, they'd find him covered in blood, and probably in several pieces. He shivered at the thought.

Even though he knew it was worthless, he would show the Capitol that their golden boy, Horatio Jewel, would continue fighting even when all was lost. He pounded against the walls of the Minotaur's stomach...

* * *

A minute later, the Minotaur exploded, and so did everything else inside of him.

Horatio's remains would have looked absolutely disgusting. Except that there was nothing left of Horatio. The only thing left that could _possibly_ be traced back to him was a soggy, bloody pair of boxer shorts.

Seconds later, the cannon fired. And that was it for Horatio Jewel. His sky-high ego had finally been brought down to earth, deep _inside_ the Earth.

And then four remained...

* * *

When Aurora heard the cannon, she wanted to jump for joy. She was in the final four! But she stopped herself. Reluctantly, she stood up straight and tried to continue down the tunnel she currently found herself in.

The walls were brown, and what looked like tiny streams of lava ran through them. Aurora had no idea whether or not it was real lava, if it could actually pose a threat to her, but she was pretty sure that this tunnel was not completely safe. Then again, nothing ever was in the Hunger Games. If you thought that the arena might be relatively safe, then you had learned nothing from all your years of watching past seasons of the Hunger Games.

She thought back to the cannon. As of last night, Vair had still been alive, as well as Horatio, Vixen, Margaret, and herself, obviously. That meant that the cannon could have been for any of those four.

She hoped it was Vair's cannon. Ever since he had killed Leo the previous day, Aurora had never hated anyone more. He'd betrayed their alliance at the final seven! Granted, she had been planning to leave soon anyways. No alliance could last that long so close to the end of the Games. Even so, he had just decided to _kill_ Leo Nale, when they could have separated peacefully!

One thing was for certain: The goody-two-shoes Aurora was gone now. In her place was a girl who radiated anger, and would not let anything get in her way of killing Vair Armani.

The walls of the lava tunnel she was in seemed to be reacting to her feelings. She could tell that they were pulsating heat, and Aurora was starting to sweat from the high temperatures here. She wanted to get out of the tunnel as soon as possible.

She was looking around for a door, any door, any way to get out of this nightmare...and then she found one. It was blue and circular. It looked like it would lead her into some laboratory.

She didn't trust the door. But neither did she trust the lava tunnel, and she decided that the latter was much more dangerous for her at the moment. So, she decided to take a chance and open the door.

* * *

Aurora found herself in a long, rectangular room with beige walls and what looked like water tanks on both sides. There were tables upon tables of wheat plants, corn plants, and many other things that were grown in District 9.

On top of a table in the very middle of it all, between the two rows of tables with plants, there was a note written on a light blue Post-it note. A large one, the size of a normal sheet of computer paper. Aurora had no idea what it said from here, and she didn't want to find out. It could be the very last thing she wanted to read. But, also, it might give her a clue on how to get to Vair. Or win these Games. Maybe those two things were interconnected.

Now that she thought about it, it might have been a mistake to talk out loud about plans to kill Vair. That was probably a very big factor in his decision to betray the alliance. But poor, poor Leo...

Aurora walked on over to the blue piece of paper. It said the following:

 _Aurora Baylor, congrationals. You are in the final four of Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games. This room has been created by SnowLucario, a sixteen-year-old computer hacker from the suburbs of the Capitol, who is working with the Gamemakers. It is an addition, as well as the Riddle Tower that killed Bryson Holstein._

 _Wait, so Bryson_ wasn't _killed by another tribute? Some kind of tower?_ Aurora thought.

There was still more to the note.

She read on.

 _This room is meant to be a reflection of what could have been, had you not been reaped into the Hunger Games. You could have been a biological engineer and grown more food for your district (which really would have all been hogged by the Peacekeepers). Instead, you have been selected for the Hunger Games, and are going to come in fourth place. You will not be Aurora Baylor, the person who saves District 9 from their starvation. Instead, you'll just be Aurora, one of many girls from the Wheatlands to die in the Hunger Games_

These words froze Aurora right to her core. But, after all, they were just words, right? They shouldn't have had any power over her, because the author of the note had nothing to substantiate that claim. Aurora was still doing fairly well for herself. Better than Vair, anyway, and most likely Vixen.

Tears in her eyes, she forced herself to read onwards.

 _This room is a trash compactor. The walls will move closer and closer together until they crush you. And then, there will be nothing left of you. You'll go back to the earth, much like the plants you have harvested for the living. It all gets recycled. This is the end._

 _Fuck you, Aurora Baylor._

 _Love, SnowLucario._

Aurora wailed. But then, she knew that there might still be a small possibility that she might be able to get out of this. It all depended on her thinking rationally, which might not happen if she was too emotional. And she still wasn't a hundred percent certain that that SnowLucario person was actually planning on killing her this way. It might just be some massive bluff, but why would it be in that person's best interest to lie about killing Aurora?

 _To unhinge me?_

And then, the walls came, almost imperceptibly at first, towards each other. The room was over a hundred feet wide, and they were moving perhaps an inch every ten seconds. If Aurora didn't do something about it, she would be crushed in a little under two hours.

 _Man, this is_ cruel!

It was one thing to just pound her into pieces immediately. It was quite another to have them slowly coming in towards each other, with absolutely no way out. But that didn't mean Aurora wasn't going to try.

The District 9 girl ran for the door through which she had entered the laboratory. As expected, she found it mysteriously sealed, no doubt by the Gamemakers or that SnowLucario person. She knew now that they had programmed it so that this room was impossible to escape. And, looking up, she noticed that the walls went all up to the ceiling. She could scale the walls all day long, but there would be nothing to climb up on to. Meaning that she had almost certainly lost, unless the other three tributes all perished without her being involved. And she doubted that would happen.

Based on her calculations, the walls were now eighty feet apart, after she had had her time to say goodbye to her family and friends.

She said good-bye to her parents. Hopefully, they would be able to manage on the farm without her.

She bade farewell to Dax, her oldest brother, but still younger than her. She thanked him for all of those days that he had worked an extra hour or two in the fields so that Aurora could have some extra time with her books. Which would now amount to absolutely nothing.

She bade farewell to Sable and Trac, her two youngest siblings. When she was done, she looked up, and knew just how cruel this method of death was.

Even though there was nothing of use she could do, she still had to wait for these walls to come and crush her, becoming increasingly claustrophobic. With eighty feet to go, the walls moving at a foot every two minutes, she had eighty minutes left of this torture. She grew more and more hopeless every ten seconds, seeing the walls inch ever closer.

She once again looked up and saw absolutely nothing to climb onto, in order to escape. Not only that, but the tables and everything else in the room, except for that light blue Post-it note, had disappeared. She was alone with only the walls to keep her company.

And then, Aurora had a thought. It was so stupid and cliche, but she was willing to try anything at this point. She didn't care how stupid she might look to the audience in the Capitol, and, if this didn't work, she wouldn't have too long to live to regret it.

Aurora folded up the piece of paper to make a paper airplane, using one of her knives to write the letters, _HELP ME._ She was hoping that perhaps another tribute would see what it was about. Horatio or Margaret would definitely try to kill her, and Vair probably would as well, considering how quick he had been to kill Leo. But if it was Vixen who answered it, there was a chance that she might be able to be negotiated with. Maybe, just maybe, she could form an alliance with her.

And then, she dismissed that silly notion. She wasn't going to be able to get into an alliance with Vixen this late in the Games. At the final four, if she decided to form an alliance with Vixen after taking out Margaret or Horatio, whoever was nearest to them, and decided to hunt down Vair, she knew that that would never work out. They'd be forced to turn on each other, and Aurora didn't want to do that. Besides, Vixen was unlikely to trust her either, being a District 6 street kid.

Just because she wanted to feel like she was doing something, she threw the airplane. Predictably, it didn't make it very far, not like it could have reached another tribute anyways. But she decided to ignore that. Instead, she focused on the walls. She tried to get a grip on them. Maybe she was wrong about there not being a gap at the top...

* * *

After an hour of fruitlessly trying to climb the walls, Aurora was exhausted and had still gotten nowhere. The walls were now ten feet apart from each other, and it was making Aurora more and more claustrophobic, just like the Gamemakers had intended.

 _I guess this is how it ends, huh?_

It was frustrating not having a way to end her life sooner. She could have committed suicide with her knife, but she wanted to go out bravely. She didn't want to show her family that. She wanted to show them that she would fight tooth and nail in order to get back to them. And, in the end, that was the impression she wanted to send out to the people of the Capitol; that of a fighter, not of a coward.

Once the walls were four feet apart, Aurora realized that now was as good a time as any to try to climb. She could wall jump like Mario. But she'd have to be quick about it, because she only had two minutes until she was finally crushed to death. At this point, the door had been covered, or at least part of it, so even if the door had not been magically sealed, she wouldn't have been able to get through it anyway. And she couldn't climb the walls, either.

She really, truly was hopeless.

Aurora accepted her fate and waited for the walls to crush her to death.

Five minutes later, the walls pushed back apart, as Aurora's bloodied corpse fell to the ground, intestines, internal organs, and all. The cannon fired, but no hovercraft would come in to pick up her remains. That was the clever part of this arena; there was no need to dig graves to bury the tributes, because they were essentially already in them, this deep underground.

* * *

Two more cannons, within a few hours of each other.

First, there had been one at perhaps nine or so in the morning, and then a second one around midday. This meant that they were in the final three.

Vixen was starting to actually feel as though she might be able to win this. There were only two other tributes left, and with luck, they would confront each other before the winner came to fight against Vixen. And she knew that this would end quickly. The Gamemakers were no doubt going to become impatient with how things were going, not to mention the Capitol audience.

No, these would not be a long Hunger Games.

Vixen was out of food, however, so she had reason not to be optimistic about her odds. She was in very deep trouble without nutrition or hydration, and would die within days. But this wouldn't last for _days._ Dying of starvation was no longer a big worry, truth be told. Now, the main problem was keeping up your strength for the final battle. And Vixen was ready. At least, she sure as hell hoped she was.

She drew her knife, wondering who would come near her. She thought that she had footsteps. For ten minutes, she had stood on tenterhooks, waiting to see if there was indeed another tribute following her. She knew that Aurora was most likely far stronger than her, and Horatio or Margaret would positively wipe the floor with her, if what had gone on in the Training Center and the Bloodbath was any indication. She now thought that her odds of winning were slimmer than they had seemed just ten minutes ago.

But still, she wasn't going to give up hope. Jack Rover back at home was counting on her.

Of course, she was not yet aware that Jack had been killed by the Peacekeepers. She might have died of despair if she had known. But, thankfully, she didn't know yet, and that gave her the strength to push onwards.

* * *

Margaret had been expecting a showdown with Horatio at any moment.

Instead, she was shocked to see his face come first in the death recap. Who had killed him? She knew that _she_ certainly hadn't. And she didn't think that any of the other remaining tributes would have been capable of taking him on. Which meant that it must have been the Gamemakers.

It wasn't hard for her to overestimate the people who controlled everything that went on inside the arena. After all, she had seen just how confusing this maze could get. And she was more than ready for it to end.

Horatio was followed by Aurora from District 9. Again, Margaret didn't know how she had died, but she could assume that it was either at the hands of Horatio or the Gamemakers. She thought the latter more likely, considering that they were nearing the end. Or maybe they had been led towards each other by some hazard...

Whatever. There was no point of such speculation anymore. The only thing that mattered was right here and right now, and that was the mindset Margaret needed to have if she wanted to win the Hunger Games. And she wanted to, very badly.

And, suddenly, she saw a figure running. If he hadn't been the only boy left in the arena, Margaret would not have known that it was Vair. Even so, she had to check to make sure that it really was the District 8 boy. He was running as though he had just seen a ghost.

Margaret wasn't scared of whatever it might have been that Vair was running from. All she wanted to do was to get into that tunnel so that she could kill Vair and bring things down from three to two.

She ran into the blue tunnel. Soon, she was sprinting alongside Vair, barely managing to keep up with the younger boy. She took out her katana, and Vair gasped, "So that's how you want to do things, do you? Well, I guess anything goes, considering we're at the final three".

And suddenly, Margaret realized why he was gasping. Looking behind her, she noticed a cascade of rocks chasing them downhill.

* * *

The katana had managed to make a neat gash on Vair's leg, and that was making it a little more difficult for him to keep up with the Career. Even so, he wasn't going to give up that easily. He was probably just as determined as Margaret was to get back home to his family, which she could definitely relate to.

Vair saw a door up ahead of him that led into another tunnel. He tried to keep up with Margaret, and avoid getting run over by the avalanche, but it was difficult due to the wound that she had inflicted. He knew that he'd have to do this, though, otherwise he'd get swallowed.

He tripped over a stone that had been lying in the path, just five yards from the doorway. He felt a weight rest on his legs.

At the same time, Margaret leaped through the door and didn't look back. Vair wanted to scream at her to help him, but that would be ridiculous. No alliances were formed at the final three. That was just a ludicrous idea.

Instead, Vair just lay there as the rocks continued piling onto his body. He wanted to scream again, but this time, there would be no way that he could. The combined weight of all the rocks above him made it impossible.

Dimly, he heard his own cannon.

* * *

Margaret looked through the room. Her eyes alighted on the only other remaining living person left in the Labyrinth.

A scrawny, long-haired girl with brown eyes was staring straight into Margaret's soul. With that much intensity, at least. They burned with hatred. The girl brandished her knife. She was ready for anything and everything.

"It's time to party" Vixen said.

She aimed her knife right at Margaret's heart.


	27. Heat Stroke

**This is it: the final battle! Margaret vs. Vixen!**

 **I have reaped the arena for the 64th, and the winner is...LORAX! This is going to be a fun one to write, that is for sure. I used an RNG on the Internet to reap it. I think I'll enjoy that more than one based on Boston. Sorry, guys.**

 **Also, right before I posted this: 100 reviews! I'm glad we hit that milestone, and I knew we could do it! There are still some people who are behind in reading and reviewing, and I know that I have a lightning-fast update speed. So I expect that number to go up in the future.**

 **Let's not put off the final battle any longer! I'm sorry that this is an extremely short chapter, it's just that I suck at writing for battles. This is the final battle of the first REAL SnowLucario Hunger Games. I don't count my crossover, because it's really lame and only has one review. Speaking of which, if you read that or Bounding Through Time, I'd love you to review that. Thank you very much.**

 **Enjoy the shortest chapter of the actual Games!**

* * *

Margaret wasn't worried. After all, it was katana versus knife, and it was obvious who had the upper hand here. One of them was a Career who had been relatively well-fed her whole life, and even during these Games, while the other was a petite District 6 girl who'd lived on the streets for years.

Vixen put up a fight, though. She went out swinging with her knife, and Margaret had to dodge out of the way. Then, the floor began collapsing behind them. Vixen and Margaret both ran, the self-preservation instinct very strong in both of them. Both of them wanted to win. It was _womano a womano_ as the final battle began to rage.

Finally, they reached another tunnel, which they both ran into. Then, Margaret noticed a walkway above them. Vixen took advantage of the ladder to get onto the catwalk. Margaret was too heavy for the ladder, so she was forced to run alongside it. That stupid little girl. This battle was already lasting longer than she had expected it to.

Eventually, Vixen disappeared from sight, and Margaret now had to hope that she was going the right way in order to once again catch up with the other girl. If not, it would be very difficult for her to win this battle.

Margaret recognized the next cavern. It was the same one in which they had confronted District 3, and Horatio had tripped over the wire. Margaret was glad that it was Vixen, and not her former ally, who was fighting against her now, for their life. And, of course, the victor's crown. That was a very important thing. After all, it was the very same reason that Margaret had consented to being placed in this nightmarish situation.

Vixen was right above her, but the District 6 girl realized that she wasn't going to win this battle anytime soon if she didn't jump down from the bridge. She had to confront the older girl directly, for that was what the Gamemakers wanted. They didn't just want to see one tribute make a mistake and die.

All the cameras were on them right now. All of Panem was watching these two girls battle it out. Margaret took one step towards Vixen, and, suddenly, a hole opened up below their feet. Both girls began tumbling down it.

The whole time they were falling, Margaret and Vixen were trying to get onto each other's throats, pushing and kicking off of each other as though they were dancing in some macabre aerial ballet. They somehow both knew that this fall would not kill them, otherwise it would kill _both_ of them, and there would be no victor. And that was one thing that could not happen in these Games. There could not be a tie. Only one victor, and never _zero_ victors.

And, suddenly, both of the girls hit some sort of netting. It forced them off of each other, and they were now flying into something else: something unbearably hot.

Vixen must have blacked out briefly from the pain. When she opened her eyes, she realized that she was hanging on to a piece of scaffolding, in an extremely hot hole. Looking up, she had to look back down immediately, for the top of the hole was as bright as the sun. No, it was a thousand times brighter. It was a wonder that she didn't go blind instantly.

Looking down, she realized that all was lava. She immediately realized that she didn't want to fall down. Looking to her left, she saw that Margaret was clinging to an identical piece of scaffolding.

* * *

Margaret looked down. She almost immediately regretted it, due to the fact that the lava was so bright. Then, the scaffolding fell away, and both girls once again fell twenty feet onto a trampoline. It was a good thing that the trampoline had been there to arrest their fall.

It was extremely hot, and Margaret was sweating buckets as she tried to stand up, in order to get to Vixen, who was groaning on the floor. Clearly, she must have been hurt when they had landed on the scaffolding earlier. Now, when the other girl was at her most vulnerable, Margaret could finish it.

She leaped up, and almost immediately dark spots danced in her eyes. _That_ must have been due to the heat. Despite the wave of dizziness that washed over her, she swung her katana at Vixen...and it bounced off of her harmlessly, as if she had an invisible shield protecting her from Margaret.

 _What the fuck is going on?_ Margaret thought.

Vixen, on the other hand, knew what was happening. "Fuck you, Capitol! Tearing children away from their families, all for the sake of some perverted definition of _justice..._ it's just WRONG!"

She knew that that was unlikely to give her any brownie points with the powers that were in the Capitol. But she didn't care. She just wanted to make them _listen._ Now was the perfect time to give her speech. But she didn't waste much energy on it. They wouldn't kill a victor for blasphemy against the Capitol, and only Jack stood to be harmed from it.

In the moment, though, Vixen didn't care. All she wanted to do was _live_. And she was willing for anything else to happen afterwards, as long as she got to go back to District 6, where it never got nearly this hot. It must have been two hundred degrees in here.

For that was why she was no longer wasting her breath. The Capitol wasn't interested in seeing the two girls in an all-out brawl. Whoever could survive the heat longer would win.

Margaret had also given up. She simply sat back down, hoping that she would not die of heat stroke before her competition. Her family was counting on her to return home safely. She just had to last longer.

Vixen was becoming uncomfortably warm. She felt it going directly to her core, and her vision was swimming. Every movement she made, not that she tried to make too many of them, felt very sluggish. It was all she could do not to pass out right there. Her only consolation was that, since Margaret was bigger, she would likely absorb more heat than her, and hopefully die faster.

Suddenly, Vixen vomited. Margaret was also feeling nauseous from the heat, as well as the bright red lights that were turning on all around the cavern. It made her feel even more like she was suffocating, besides the fact that she was trying to hold back her own sick. But soon, she was retching as well.

For a long time, both girls were simply heaving everything they had in their stomachs. For Vixen, it wasn't very much, mostly just bile, considering that she hadn't eaten very much during the time that she was in the arena. But Margaret threw up every bit of the breakfast buffet food that the Careers had had over the last three days, that was still in her stomach three days later.

Eventually, though, they had nothing left to give, but they both still continued puking. It was probably just like the old Roman days, and what people did in the Capitol. But neither girl focused on that for too long.

It wasn't long before both Margaret and Vixen lost consciousness.

* * *

Now, both girls had stopped sweating. All of the tunnels, every bit of the maze except for the Cornucopia cavern and places where the tributes had died had been destroyed. The hovercraft was coming in, and it would fish out whichever girl had managed to outlast the other one.

The claw paused. It wasn't going to lift up either of those two tributes that way.

Two young men rappelled from the edge of the doorway onto the trampoline floor. They had brought out a stretcher, on which they laid the unconscious girl. Then, they both climbed back up, holding her between them. Luckily, the current froze them in place, or else they might have dropped the stretcher. You didn't want to lose the victor.

The only question left for the audience was: who was it? Who was the winner of the sixty-third annual Hunger Games?


	28. Victorious

**I finished this chapter right after school on Friday. It feels so good to be done with most of my first SYOT. Just one last chapter after this one!**

 **This could be a good time to grab a blanket and curl up by the fire, like a dog. This is my longest chapter ever, at a little over ten thousand words. YES, WE REACHED THE FIVE-DIGITS IN TERMS OF WORDS IN A CHAPTER! Except maybe the fire is not a good idea, because of what you just read. And what will be written about a little of this. Speaking of which, I have done my research on heat stroke. I do my homework for my stories. There should be little or no geographic errors in any of my fics.**

 **Last night (as of when I began writing this chapter), Labyrinth passed both the 100-review mark and the 100,000-word mark. As I type this, it is at 103 reviews, which is also the highest fever I have ever had. I think that's fitting considering how these Games ended.**

 **It is now time to reveal who won. Currently, in my poll for worst death, Aurora has two votes, and nobody else is on the board. I agree. Getting slowly hemmed in by two trash compactor walls over a period of two hours sounds like a pretty horrible way to go.**

 **Enjoy the penultimate chapter of Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games!**

* * *

 _Fire. All is fire. It is so unbearably hot that the girl can barely see in front of her. All around her, all is orange and black. She tries to crawl for help, but every movement feels sluggish, as if she is swimming through mud. She feels as though she is literally baking from the inside out. Soon, she will explode, just like a firebomb..._

The girl woke up. Through her green eyes, she saw the scene around her.

She was in some kind of hospital room. There were cold compresses on her forehead, arms, legs, and stomach, as well as an IV in her left arm. She tried to sit up, but she was being restrained by a belt a few inches above her body.

One of the nurses, seeing that she was awake, came over from her desk, where she appeared to have been filling out some paperwork.

"Good afternoon, Margaret. Congratulations. You're the winner of the sixty-third Hunger Games".

Margaret was relieved that she had won. Coming out of the black void that she had just been in, she would have been prepared to believe just about anything, including if the nurse told her that she had died, and that this was heaven. And she would also not be surprised to learn that she had just been hell. The last thing she remembered was heat so intense that she had barely been able to see. Then, she'd passed out, sure that she had lost. Now, though...

"You really did it, Miss Malachi. You've won".

Then, Margaret felt the room tip a little bit. They seemed to be back in the hovercraft that had taken them into the arena.

One member of the flight crew came over and said, "Good, she's awake. We're going to be back in the Capitol in a few minutes. How are you feeling, Margaret?"

Margaret tried to speak, but her throat was so dry that it was difficult. Finally, she managed to say, "I feel like I've just been cooking in an oven for a couple hours".

"Well, technically, that _is_ kind of true. You got heat stroke as a result of how hot it was in that last room in the Labyrinth. That's why you have the IV. We're making sure that you're going to be adequately hydrated for your interview with Caesar Flickerman, where you'll formally receive your crown. And then, you'll go back to District 2 as a victor!"

Margaret should have been ecstatic. After all, she had just achieved her dream that she had been striving towards for half of her life. But all she felt was nervousness for her upcoming interview.

"Don't worry, Miss Malachi. You'll be all right in the interview. The audience already loves you!"

"But...why did they have to do it that way? Why couldn't it have just been a one-on-one brawl between me and Vixen?"

The flight crew member said, "Our Assistant Head Gamemaker has a bit of a flair for the dramatic. He was the one who designed the heat tunnel, and the Riddle Tower that ended up being Bryson's downfall. Margaret...can I trust you with this information that I am about to tell you?"

Margaret nodded. After all, she was feeling pretty feverish right now, and she thought that she might not have remembered this.

"This is _top secret._ If your lips loosen, then you can be in big trouble. Are you sure you can handle this information?" the man said in a very curt tone of voice.

"Yes" Margaret said. "I mean, look at me right now. There's no way I'll be able to disclose the information to anyone back in the districts, at least not right now. And, it's not like I intend to. So, tell me".

"Well", the flight crew member said, "the arena was considered too boring by the Capitol audience, because you couldn't really keep track of where the tributes were, and when they were closer together or farther apart. Because of this, Johan Bainbridge is going to die seven months from now. In an accident". Based on the glint in his eye, Margaret could tell that he would only make it _look_ like an accident.

"Who's going to take over?" Margaret asked, not knowing if she should have.

"Well, that's an easy question" the flight crew member said. "He's right here with us".

Margaret looked up. A tall, skinny boy probably a year or two younger than her strode into the room. He had light brown hair and turquoise blue eyes. He looked right at the victor, with a look of awe.

"Congrats, Margaret. I'm the hacker known as SnowLucario. I'm actually the new Head Gamemaker as well. My name is Glacier Jackalburg. Right now, I'm only the Assistant Head Gamemaker. And old Johan is still going to work on the next arena. He'll have no idea that his life is only going to last until a little after your Victory Tour".

He laughed, and Margaret could see the cruelty in his eyes. This was one person whose bad side she did not want to get on.

* * *

After landing back in the Capitol, Margaret's bed was wheeled out and taken to the underground hospital of the Training Center. The nurses walked alongside her. Margaret would stay in the hospital until she was deemed healthy enough to face the nation. She was relatively uninjured, but the heat stroke was the biggest problem.

Margaret stayed two nights in the hospital, spending most of them in and out of a feverish doze. It wasn't as though she hadn't had nightmares before the Games, but now they were far worse. It wasn't just what she had been through, but the heat stroke was definitely doing that to her. She heard the doctors saying that her temperature had hit 108 at one point, and that she should be grateful to be alive.

 _No shit, Sherlock,_ she thought. Of _course_ she should be grateful to still be alive. She'd just been in the Hunger Games, so why wouldn't she be?

Oftentimes, Margaret would be woken by nurses coming to change the bag on her IV, or the relentless nightmares. She was now covered in a cold sweat, but she knew that it was a sign that she was getting better. The sooner she got better, the sooner she could return home to District 2, where she belonged. It wasn't as though she couldn't have been treated adequately there.

But that was just how things went, she reminded herself.

On these occasions, Margaret would try to cheer herself up by thinking about what she would do with her winnings. Of course, she'd get to move into the Victor's Village, for one. She'd get to be with Lyme, Mason, and Marcus, as well as the other ten living District 2 victors. And she'd get to mentor incoming tributes, to try to keep the tradition going. She'd taken back the crown from District 1. Surely, that was something to be proud of.

* * *

The day finally came. The doctors took out Margaret's IV line, and she was taken away to be styled for her televised interview with Caesar Flickerman. It seemed like two lifetimes ago since she had sat in front of him, but in reality it had only been two weeks.

"How would you like her hair?" a member of her team, Willow Goldine, asked the others.

"I think it should be styled back in a ponytail, like Rihanna's" another member said.

In the end, Margaret was dressed up like a fire muttation, since she had outlasted Vixen in the increasingly intense heat. She wished that she didn't have to be reminded of that, but it was just what her prep team thought would be best. And she had no choice but to agree with them, because she knew that they could easily delay the time before she was on a train back home.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Even though her costume brought back unpleasant memories, she could not deny that it was pretty amazing. She looked very sexy in the fiery red-orange dress she had been adorned in. The people of the Capitol would _love_ her!

Finally, it was time for her to walk over to a plate. Once again, it brought back unwanted memories of when she had first risen into the arena. This plate, instead of leading down into that hellish Labyrinth, took her upwards, away from the basement and up onto the stage.

Caesar Flickerman strode towards her. His blue hair was tied back in a man bun, as always, and he looked as young as ever. Margaret looked for a place to sit, but realized that there was none.

"Oh, sorry, Miss Malachi, you must be exhausted. Chair, please?"

Two Avoxes pushed in the victor's throne. This year, it was tall and skinny, made out of emerald green iron, the same color as Margaret's eyes. It did not look very comfortable, but Margaret knew better than to argue with them. Even though it was her night, she wasn't keen on making the audience hate her. She might have been a free spirit, but she always preferred being liked to being hated. That was just common sense, she thought.

"I'll give you three options, Margaret. Would you prefer to hold the interview before the recap, during it, or after?"

Margaret thought this for a few seconds. "Can we have you ask me a few questions first, and then we'll get to the movie?"

"Sure, Miss Malachi. After all, it _is_ your night. You've earned it; you've survived a Bloodbath, a feast, a dysfunctional Career alliance, and a heatstroke. You've definitely earned that!"

Margaret sat down in her green throne. It really _did_ bring out the color of her eyes. However, now was not the time to focus on that. It was now time to begin the interview.

Caesar began by asking her about her health situation. "How are you feeling healthwise, Margaret?"

"I'm doing all right, Caesar. Although these lights are hurting my eyes. Like, _way_ more than you would think. Would you please turn them down a bit?"

"Oh, of course. Anything for our victor!" He gave an order to the Avox nearby, who dimmed the lights slightly. "Is that better?"

"Yes, it is" Margaret said.

"I have been told", Caesar said, "that the doctors have recommended that you limit your exposure to the sun for the next several weeks. How do you feel about that? Do you wish that you could go outside more?"

"You know, I kind of _do,_ Caesar. I have always loved going out for walks, or sunbathing, in the summer back at home in District 2. But you're right, I know that they have my best interests at heart. It really sucks that I'll miss the last few weeks of the summer, but I now hope, and _believe,_ that I will have many more summers to come".

"So you appreciate your life more now that you are a victor?" Caesar asked.

"Oh, there's no question about it" she said. "Every sight of blue, white, black...it's incredible. Anything, _anything_ other than orange. That's now my least favorite color!" she laughed.

So did the audience. They loved the victor's little quip about her new least favorite color being orange. Of course, they all knew why that was.

"Granted, I haven't that much chance to do anything ever since I've won. I've been in the hospital, as you all know".

"Yeah, we know. Margaret, how do you think your family are reacting to your winning, right now?"

"Well, obviously they're very proud of me. I think that they're even more glad for the money. I'm supported for life with my victor's stipend. But, beyond all that, beyond everything else that I've done in the arena, and in the Capitol before the arena, I'm still Margaret Malachi. I'm still the girl who tried to volunteer last year. I'm still the girl who loves the outdoors. I'm still... _free-spirited._ And soon, I'll be free. Free from all of this".

Margaret expected that the Capitol might get mad at her for those last five words. But, nothing seemed to happen. Instead, Caesar launched into the next question.

"Do you think we should start the recap now?" he asked her.

Margaret sat back in her chair. "Bring the popcorn", she said, "I'm ready".

* * *

It was tradition that the victor watched a three-hour movie that was a recap of the Hunger Games. It was edited to focus on the victor and any of his or her allies, as well as any particular enemies. It had a very clear winner's edit, but that was okay, since everyone would know, in the future, that Margaret Malachi had been the winner of the 63rd Hunger Games.

Very frequently, the victor either pumped their fists in the air while watching, cheering on themselves, or just sat back in their chair, looking stunned that they had just fought through and survived all of that.

The movie started with the reapings. It showed Margaret walking proudly onto the stage, having volunteered for the Hunger Games before the name of the female tribute could be called out. At the time, she hadn't known what she would be getting into. The film showed all of the reapings, but especially hers.

It then showed a montage of some training moments, and then the scores being announced. Margaret's ten shone as green on the screen, while everyone else's shone as gray, giving an extra focus on the victor.

"I was definitely very happy with the score I got in training" she said. "Ten is about as high I could get without getting an extra target on my back. That was what gave me the best chances at winning. It put the odds in my favor".

The audience clapped more, until Caesar shouted, "Quiet, guys! You're drowning out the movie!"

The movie continued to show the interviews. It showed one question apiece for each of the other twenty-three tributes, but because Margaret was the victor, her interview was shown in full.

In her Hebrew outfit, she was looking just as beautiful as always. Caesar had just asked her how she thought her family would feel about her. And, as part of her response, she was saying:

"My parents have both been helping me train for the Games since I was nine years old. Thanks to them, I'm feeling good about my odds of winning the Games. Mom, Dad, if you can hear me, and I know you can, _thank you_ ".

It sounded like something she would have said, but she wasn't used to this being _her._ It was like it had been some stuntwoman playing her role in a movie, when, in reality, it had been _her_ all along in the Hunger Games. _She_ had done all of this, and survived longer than anyone else.

Margaret was then shown in the Bloodbath, missing her first chance to grab her katana and ninja stars, but then going back in at the right moment.

"That was some seriously impressive timing!" Caesar said excitedly. "It takes some serious skills to know exactly when it's safe to run in and when it isn't!"

"I know" Margaret said. "But, honestly, at that moment, you're just so hyped up on adrenaline that you don't really care. It doesn't matter that you might die. You just want to run in. And your mind is calculating everything, making all of those decisions so quickly".

Caesar Flickerman nodded. After that, they both looked back at the screen.

For most of the rest of the Games, Margaret's edit took a back seat to the more notable members of the Career pack. She was shown during brief segments, cleaning Horatio's wrench wounds. Of course, her district partner would later be weakened by that same wrench...

Her district partner...

The feast brought along a certain level of embarrassment for Margaret. Everything had been going perfectly. The Careers had taken a lot of food from the table, and it was looking like all of them were going to get away. And then, Margaret lobbed the bowl of fruit salad. She had been intending to hit Leo Nale, but it had gone a little of course and instead struck Hades Blackett in the head, knocking him out. Immediately, she had felt a certain level of shame, but had still continued fighting, trying to cram as much food as possible into her backpack.

This would be part of what led to Hades's downfall later. But Margaret had not been present for the event, so she had to wait for it to be shown. Which probably wouldn't be for too long, since the tributes really went down quickly in this arena.

Margaret had managed to avoid making any more serious blunders during the feast. Even when Eli Trout was impaled through the brain with Aurora Baylor's knife, she managed not to let her face turn red. She hated that color almost as much as she hated orange, now.

The film then showed her being with the rest of the Careers as they mourned Eli.

The following day, Elegance was killed by way of being bitten by a venomous snake. That girl had been brave to face her fears alone. Even now, Margaret felt somewhat guilty for not allowing her into the Career pack. However, since she had gotten that low a score in training, there was really no way that she could have convinced Horatio or Hades, or even Eli or Anna, of that. And she hadn't wanted to ruin her relationship with the other Careers.

Even so, it felt bad to see Elegance die in the way that she had been most afraid of ever since she had signed her life away to the Hunger Games. Of course, Margaret had as well. But the difference was, she had gotten hers _back._

On the fourth night, Margaret had been paranoid about the Careers deciding that it was time to turn on each other. She even voiced this to Caesar.

"I was so worried that there was going to be a disbandment of the Careers soon, and that it wouldn't be peaceful. After all, it _was_ the final ten. And, since I had concussed Hades, I would probably be the first target. So, that's why I left".

"I daresay that was a wise move, Miss Malachi" Caesar said. People were calling her that a lot lately, Margaret realized. It had taken her two days, through IVs and cold sweats and nightmares, to realize that they must have liked the alliteration. Maybe they had even called her that before she had won, but it no longer mattered. What mattered was the screen before her.

Margaret left in the early hours of the morning. Later, Anna woke up Horatio, whom she told all about the events that had occurred. Horatio didn't seem too worried. Margaret had known just how insufferably arrogant and cocky the District 1 boy was, and she was looking forward to seeing how he had died.

Horatio had suddenly attacked Anna. After a short battle, he triumphed over the girl from District 4. Then, he took advantage of the fact that Hades was defenseless and killed his semiconscious former ally. That brought the tribute count from ten down to eight, and that meant that it was time for the interviews. At least, where the interviews would normally have been. The interviews had just been shown at the final ten this year, although Margaret couldn't imagine why. Maybe it had to do with Glacier Jackalburg.

Now, they were at the final eight. Margaret was now a loner, as Conker met his end by drunkenly ambling into a pit with a bed of spikes at the bottom. Although Margaret knew that she was perfectly safe where she was right now, she couldn't help but grimace when she saw the blood fly everywhere. That was a pretty awful death.

But worse was yet to come.

Leo was betrayed by Vair. That alliance of three had continued all the way until the final seven, which Margaret figured was usually the tipping point. No one wanted their own ally's blood on their hands, except Horatio didn't seem to have thought twice about slaughtering Anna and Hades.

Bryson's death was probably the most ridiculous. Dying of an infected leg wound inflicted by a piranha, he had limped into a mysterious tower, where he had solved a series of puzzles. The editors of the film made it clear that that tower had been put there by Jackalburg. He'd gotten through all eight of the mind games, and then stumbled back to the top, looking as though he might pass out at any moment, which Margaret could now kind of relate to.

What she _couldn't_ relate to was seeing Bryson engulfed in a rainbow-colored light and collapse to his knees as if he was praying. That was new.

The following morning was the sixth and final day of the Games. It started out with Horatio, who had been enjoying breakfast, so convinced that he was going to win. Imagine his surprise when the Minotaur ended up next to him, and it was clear that the monster was _hungry._

What followed next was one of the most hilarious things Margaret had ever seen. At least, it would have been if she had had the ability to see anything that had occurred in the Hunger Games as _funny._

Horatio Jewel had wet his pants. The editing made this very clear. Then, he tried to fight the Minotaur, but it was clear that he was only managing to make it angry. The monster picked him up and devoured him. But Horatio wasn't giving up too easily. Due to the GoPro technology included in the tracker that had been injected into all of their arms, it was clear that he had been fighting until the very end. By the time the Minotaur exploded, the only thing left was a pair of boxer shorts soaked in blood and urine, both of which had come from Horatio.

"That's one horrible way to go out" Margaret said, chuckling a little.

"You said it, Miss Malachi!" Caesar exclaimed.

But the next death was more horrible still. Aurora Baylor had been running down a lava tunnel not dissimilar to right before the final battle. She fled into a pair of double doors, believing that she would be safe. Instead, she read a chilling light blue Post-it note on a lab table. Then, the furniture disappeared from the room and the walls began to close in on her.

Whatever else Margaret could have said about the District 9 girl (she'd never gotten to know her very well), she went out bravely. She said good-bye to her family and allowed herself to get crushed by the walls. The editing made it clear that her death had taken approximately two hours. Margaret had thought she had it bad, but _two hours_ of slowly getting crushed to death...man, that would be claustrophobic as fuck.

And then there was Vair, and him getting crushed by the avalanche of rocks...suffice it to say that Margaret only needed to see that death once.

The final battle with Vixen came, and, after tumbling down that hole, they were both caught by a net. Then, they were both hanging on to keep themselves above the lava. And then, even that scaffolding disappeared.

And then it was just struggling to survive the heat. Both girls vomited up everything that had been in their stomachs. Eventually, both Vixen and Margaret were lying unconscious on the trampoline floor. One cannon sounded, and the hovercraft came.

Two young men rappelled into the hole to pick up Margaret and place her on a stretcher. And that was that.

Margaret tried to crack a quick joke. "How many times did you have to prick me to get an IV started?" she asked no one in particular.

One of the doctors spoke loudly, "Thirty-eight!"

Every single person laughed, even Margaret. But then, the recap was over.

Caesar took Margaret's hand and lifted it in his own. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up for Margaret Malachi...victor of the sixty-third annual HUUUUNNNNGGGGER GAMES!"

The crowd cheered.

* * *

Margaret did not remember very much about the rest of the night. Normally, the audience all ended up in a horde to ask questions of the newly crowned victor, but, owing to the fact that Margaret was still recovering, they had decided to only allow one hundred questions. Capitolites wishing to ask something of Margaret had to pick a number from a stand.

One man, who had picked the number 101, had a temper tantrum over it and ended up having to be dragged away by a pair of security personnel.

Margaret was relieved for this. She wasn't physically, or mentally, prepared to stand there for hours, just answering random peoples' questions. Even so, she was exhausted by the time the hundred questions were over.

At which time it must have been well past midnight, security finally came in to get the people off of Margaret. Then, she caught a train back home to District 2.

Margaret slept most of the way, in spite of all of the night's excitement. She only woke up when they were pulling into the central station of District 2.

* * *

Margaret sniffed the air. It could only be an hour or two from sunrise, but it was still cold up here in the mountains. And that felt good on her body. She caught a taxi that had been waiting for her at the station.

Of course, the driver asked her, "What are you doing? Where are you going at this ungodly hour?". But Margaret only had to show her face to the cabbie, and that answered both of those questions.

Finally, _finally,_ Margaret got home. Her parents were still sleeping, but then, they must have stayed up late watching her interview with Caesar Flickerman, so it was excusable.

Margaret didn't even want to brush her teeth. They had filled in all of her cavities in the Capitol.

All she did was pick out her favorite pair of pajamas, collapse into her bed, and crash immediately.

* * *

Afterwards, Margaret continued her normal way of life in District 2. Whenever she went outside during the daylight hours, she wore a shawl to protect her face from the sun. However, that was only going to be temporary. Also temporary was their living in a middle-class villa.

For Margaret now had all of the money she could ask for. Not only that, but three days after returning home, the paperwork had been completed and Margaret and her parents moved into a luxurious home in the Victor's Village. Compared to the rest of Panem, District 2 citizens lived in relative luxury, but nothing was like what greeted Margaret's eyes when she first stepped into the house.

When she took her shawl off, she was fully able to look around the entrance hall. There was a chandelier there, and there was of course hot and cold running water. The living room looked like a good place to have a party. And, upstairs, Margaret knew that she could decorate her bedroom in any color she wanted. Except, of course, orange.

She knew she would enjoy her new home.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Margaret was disappointed that she couldn't go outside as much as she used to. And she often found herself bored out of her mind. Since she had already won the Hunger Games, there was no longer training to think about. Training had essentially been Margaret's _life_ before the Games, but now that was taken off of her. And there was a big, gaping hole left in its place.

Her prep team came over once a week to help her with her talent, which was what she would do now that she no longer would have to go to school or work in any of her district's industries. At first, she was very disappointed that she would no longer be working for anything. Then, a thought came to her, and it voiced itself. She had been thinking that it would be too expensive. But then, she reminded herself that it no longer mattered, that everything could be paid for. The bills no longer had to be worried about. And with that, she knew that she could voice her idea.

"I want to go to college" she told her prep team.

It wasn't as though she hadn't thought this thing through. It was what had kept her from screaming whenever she woke up from her nightmares about the arena. She was able to have fantasies about her future, which she had won by killing other children. Technically, she hadn't really _directly_ killed anyone, although she had assisted in several deaths. She had mostly let the blood fall on the hands of Horatio, Hades, and Anna.

Now that she was safe again, she knew that that had been her strategy all along. Yes, the Gamemakers controlled the game, but the audience also had a major role. You wanted them to like you as much as possible, and you didn't want to kill any other children unless it became absolutely necessary. You wanted to keep their sympathy on your side, so that the Gamemakers wouldn't want to kill you.

And it was important to have a likable victor, because if the Hunger Games were not to the satisfaction of the Capitol's people, then that would be a big problem. The Head Gamemaker could be executed. And that thought brought something back from Margaret's mind. She'd been practically delirious when she had been made aware of this, but somehow it had been stored in a metaphorical mental safe. Until she was well enough to remember it.

 _Johan Bainbridge is going to die._

She wasn't going to tell anyone. She was going to keep that card in her hand, at least for now. She wanted to play her cards right with the second chance she had been given. Now that she was back at home, she realized just how foolish she had been to throw her life away like that, and how lucky it was that she had gotten it back. Twenty-three other adolescents had had to die so that she could live. She had to make the most of the opportunity, and live life to the fullest. And that was exactly what she intended to do.

* * *

Margaret's prep team had at first not been too happy with Margaret's suggestion. After all, now that she was a victor, she had no need to work for money, and it wasn't as though a college degree would get her anywhere. But then, Margaret said, "That could be what I'm known for. Some victors are known for being stylish. Some are known for being flirtatious. I'll be known as the studious one".

After that, they finally relented. It was Margaret's hard-won life, after all, and she could do what she wanted with it. If she wanted to work towards a useless college degree, just to keep her mind occupied, so be it.

And so Margaret walked out of her house one morning in early September, still wearing her shawl, to the community college. She had decided to study mathematics, and often stayed up late at night studying. She was glad for this, because she found that when she had been busy with work or whatever else, she had had fewer nightmares, as well as less waking terrors. That was what kept her going.

Despite everything that had happened to her, she felt very good about the way things were going. She was a Hunger Games victor. She had made it back home, and secured plenty of retirement funds for her parents. She'd made her district proud of her. She'd gotten into college.

She had given up her life. But she had gotten it back.

If you want a fully happy ending, you might want to stop reading now.

Because good things didn't last forever. Margaret would soon find that out.

* * *

October brought with it the crisp coolness of early fall. Margaret had finally been deemed fully recovered from her heat stroke, and she was given the green light to go on as many walks as she wanted. She relished this new freedom, one that she had never had even when she was training. She'd walk onto the bluffs overlooking her old villa, which was still being kept well-maintained. If Margaret died with one or both of her parents still alive, then they would have to return to that villa. But Margaret didn't plan on dropping dead anytime soon. Not when she still had so much more to enjoy in this life.

She was working her way back to the Victor's Village of District 2, walking through the marketplace, when she came across a fruit stand. Normally, this would be getting towards the time that the hype was starting to die down a little bit. But, now that Margaret had finally stopped wearing her shawl, she was more recognizable than ever. People gawked at her as she bought two bags of apples. She was planning on going back home and baking a pie later. That would be a great thing to do, to herald the start of true fall.

She wasn't counting on the private jet that was landing on the landing pad of the Victor's Village.

 _Who is it?_ she thought. But she had a very good idea of who it was. Who else would be visiting her now, nearly two months after her victory?

Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the short, white-haired man with a rose above his breast step off of the plane. The faint smell of blood followed him around wherever he went, Margaret noticed.

"Oh, here she is now!" President Coriolanus Snow said.

Margaret was highly nervous in the presence of the most powerful man in the nation, but she told herself that she had no right to be, since she had not caused any trouble for the Capitol, right?

Right?

"Good afternoon, Margaret. Would you mind going into your house? I've come to have a little chat with you" Snow said. Margaret knew that this man was not going to wait for her to bake the pie. He wanted to talk _now,_ judging by his tone of voice.

"That's fine, President Snow. Please, come inside", she said, as they strode up her front lawn into her mansion.

Margaret opened the door for him, but he said, "Ladies first". So he held open the door for her, Margaret thinking the whole time, _There is no way in hell that I would date this man. Of course, he's forty-five years older than me._

Hopefully, this conversation would go well.

* * *

Before going into the study to have her talk with Snow, she went to go deposit the apples in her refrigerator. Then, she went back to speak with the president.

"So, Margaret, I would like to congratulate you on winning the Games. That is a pretty good way to do it. For your sheer endurance in the face of fiery heat, you will be remembered as one of my top ten victors, perhaps even top five. How do you feel about that?"

"I definitely am proud of myself, for that simple fact alone" she said.

"That's good. And none of your family are in any danger, either. Although, there is one thing that I would like you to do for me. Just one thing..."

"What is it?" Margaret asked, having a sinking feeling that it was going to be nothing good.

Snow explained what happened to the desirable victors. They were sold as prostitutes to the highest bidders in the Capitol. Margaret knew that that would be an awful fate for her to face. She couldn't do it. She declined as politely as she could.

"Oh, but I did say that _none of your family are in any danger._ But that could change, if you refuse to do what I ask of you".

Margaret felt hot hatred for this man bubbling up in her throat. She wanted to cry, but nothing came out. She was too good for that. She also felt that she was too good to be a slut.

But there was just no way she could say no now. Not when the lives of her parents were at stake.

"I'll do it" she said.

"Excellent" President Snow said, in a voice highly reminiscent of Mr. Burns. "You will start soon after your Victory Tour. For now, just enjoy your winnings, and your _college life"._ From the tone of voice Snow said those last two words in, Margaret could tell that he wasn't a big fan of her choice of talent, but even the president wasn't going to kill her for that. At least, she hoped not. But being a prostitute could really get in the way of her studies.

She didn't imagine that people would pay too much for a person who would spend most of their time studying.

"I will also be a mentor for incoming District 2 tributes" Margaret said. "I want to get on a streak here".

"Good luck, Miss Malachi. I will always remember you for the way you won" Snow said.

After that, the president left the Malachi house and went back over to the small landing pad, and he flew away on his private jet. Then, Margaret went back to her room and silently sobbed for ten long minutes. Then, she reminded herself that she couldn't cease functioning just because of what Snow was going to make her do.

Wordlessly, she got out the cookbook that her father had purchased a week prior and fingered to the instructions for apple pie. She carefully followed them. And, one hour later, it was ready.

She called her parents into the kitchen to enjoy Margaret's creation. The hot, baked cinnamon apples were heaven on her taste buds.

One thing was for certain: she definitely preferred District 2 in the fall as compared to the oven of a room in the Labyrinth. But things could be much, much worse.

And they would get much, much worse in the months to come.

* * *

Margaret was trying to keep up with her studies, even though it was not going to be relevant, since she didn't really need a job. She switched majors several times, because she just didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. She had always been dead set on entering the Hunger Games. Either she'd be supported for life, or she'd be dead. But she hadn't put much thought as to what she would do _after_ she won.

She spent some time pondering that, telling herself that she would choose the job she enjoyed the most, not the most lucrative one. She spent some time walking around and improving on her domesticity. And she spent some time simply lying on the grass, thanking God, or whatever higher power might have been up there, for giving her her life back, when she had been so foolish as to risk it just for the Games.

Unfortunately, that was all put to an end when it came time for the Victory Tour. Margaret had been dreading this, not only because of the fact that her prostitution would begin shortly afterwards, but also because of the unpleasant memories it brought back up for her.

One day in January, she bundled up against the cold (she'd been allowed to keep the shawl even after being determined to no longer need it, but she did not wear it), and headed to the train station. She was too free-spirited to have her parents come see her off.

Margaret got on the train and immediately ogled at everything that was there. She was going to live a life of luxury, and she loved that. But it would be intermixed with a great deal of sorrow as well.

* * *

The way the Victory Tour worked was that it started in District 12 and visited the other districts in reverse numerical order, skipping the victor's district unless it was 1, and saving it for last. Since Margaret was from District 2, District 1 would come directly after District 3 this year. Luckily, she wasn't too worried about the first district she was going to visit.

In District 12, she definitely had a fairly boring time. It wasn't as though there weren't any real festivities to speak of, because there were. Margaret delivered her speech, while looking on at the grieving families of Ash and Madi. They were very different. Ash's parents were clearly from the Seam, because they were so grimy that there was simply no alternative explanation. On the other hand, Bryson Quarry (not to be confused with the recently deceased Bryson Holstein of District 10), looked to be very wealthy for District 12. He was the district's treasurer, Margaret had been told.

She gave her speech, but neither of the families seemed very angry at her. Even though Margaret had been a part of the alliance that had eliminated both of their children, she hadn't directly delivered any of the kills. They just looked more sad than anything.

Margaret then headed south for District 11. There, it was more of the same. Nobody showed up for Em. Wheat's large family, on the other hand, was looking very distraught without Wheat there to help support him, either financially or emotionally. Even so, she was far too happy to get out of the district, although the celebratory banquet held in her honor was definitely a lot better than that in 12.

District 10 was not a difficult one to face, at least by Margaret's standards. Neither Bryson or Cam had been killed by any of the Careers. Cam's lame father, mother, and the Whey toddlers all looked heartbroken. Bryson's brothers, Winston and Garrett, as well as his parents, Jed and Sage, appeared even more so. It wasn't all bad, though. In District 10, Margaret got to eat the first hamburger that she had ever had, as a taste of the local cuisine. She definitely appreciated it, as she had always wanted to travel the world.

In District 9, Margaret had to face only Aurora's family. Ted had no one to speak of, and none of his gang friends would show up. Obviously, since they wouldn't want to be associated with Black Shade. The Baylor parents were flat-out sobbing. Clearly, they had been counting on their daughter to win. This made Margaret feel very guilty. She might not have killed Aurora, but she had still stolen the victor's crown from her. Whether she had actually been involved in her death or not.

District 8 brought back some unwanted memories. Miri's family seemed relatively happy for Margaret, and then she realized that it was because she had outlasted Vixen, who had been the one to kill Miri Ellara. As for the Armanis...they didn't look too glad. Velvet was sobbing, and Margaret remembered, painfully, running down that tunnel with rocks cascading behind them. It definitely wasn't a good feeling to have that brought back up. As she was leaving the square for her banquet, Vair's younger sister actually said, "I thought he was a faster runner than you!"

District 7 was next. As Margaret had had nothing to do with Conker at all, Berry didn't look too angry, just resentful at the fact that the Capitol had had to steal her boyfriend away from her. Isabella's family, on the other hand, looked pissed at her. But, of course, that was only to be expected; Margaret's alliance _had_ been responsible for her death in the Bloodbath.

When Margaret got back into her bed on the train, she let out a deep breath of relief.

It was half over.

* * *

A long time later, they reached District 6. This was no doubt the worst district for Margaret to face. Of course, Vixen had been _so close_ to winning the 63rd Hunger Games. It had all come down to who had lasted longer in that dreadful heat. But that was just how things went, and Margaret wished that the families could have accepted it. As for Apollo, they looked pissed that the Careers had killed their son, but, once again, that was just how the cookie crumbled. Casey, Apollo's twin sister, had a very high level of hurt in her eyes.

Nobody had come for Vixen, and Margaret had been told that Vixen's only friend, Jack, had been killed during the Hunger Games for treasonous speech. Margaret felt that Vixen was lucky for not having found out until she had gotten to the afterlife, if there even was one. She didn't allow herself to feel too guilty about this. She had done all of that just to live, and she knew that Jack would have been able to understand. At least, she hoped.

District 5 was next. Like a lot of the other tributes, Savanna and Ira had not been killed by Margaret herself, but by the other Careers. Even so, the looks of contempt that Savanna's mother and sister gave her were unmistakable. They looked doubly distraught because, Margaret had been told, Savanna's father, Korker, had died a few weeks after she had won the Hunger Games due to injuries he had sustained in a street fight.

Margaret was glad that Eli had died with more blood on his hands than her. Ira had been killed by the District 4 boy, sliced in two by his machete. But she tried to put that mental image out of her mind. There was still a lot more left to go.

In District 4, Margaret was apprehensive about facing Anna's family, but Finn Hardy didn't show. Instead, a very sad family of Trouts were there, as well as his girlfriend, Melanie, and his best friend, Dillan. All four of them looked very angry, not just at Eli for volunteering, but also at the Capitol for killing them. Luckily, though, their fury was not directed at Margaret. Eli had, in fact, been a member of the Career alliance, and Margaret added a footnote to her speech about him. Hopefully, she said, if there was a heaven, there would be a position for inventing some things. The Trouts didn't laugh, not like she had expected them to.

That was probably the easiest district for Margaret to face. She even got to visit the ocean during it, and, even though it was too cold to swim, she loved to dip her toes in the surf. Maybe someday, she would get to go out on the water. Money was no longer a concern, after all.

After District 4 came District 3. Siliconia's sisters and parents stared right into Margaret's soul. They were very mad at her for being a member of the alliance that had killed their daughter. It might have been Anna rather than Margaret who had killed the twelve-year-old girl, but that didn't seem to matter to them.

As for Ericka Nale, she still looked pissed although the Careers had literally had nothing to do with her son's death. Instead, it had been Vair to kill Leo. But, as said above, that did not matter to the grease-splattered woman, who was having a very hard time getting by without the help of her son. But at least the Bradleys wouldn't have to take as many tesserae anymore.

Because Margaret was from District 2, it was skipped on the tour. It was a very short trip from District 3 down to District 1; in fact, they were both visited on the same day, an exhausting one for her. But she kept telling herself, _You can do this, Margaret. You've been through much tougher situations than this. You've literally survived two hours in a 200-degree room!_ _You can survive the looks of the people of District 1._

Horatio's family was beyond pissed off. Horatio had been fairly close to winning the Games, just four deaths away. Horatio's parents and sister, Silvera, looked hard at Margaret. As for Elegance's family...they looked absolutely livid. Elegance had been a Career, but she wasn't welcome in their alliance. Margaret even incorporated that into her speech.

Margaret was eager to go to the Capitol and forget all about what had just happened in the luxury items district. But as she reached the train station, looking out at the vineyards, someone grabbed her and held her against the barrier.

"What the-"

She stared into the eyes of Janet Jingles, the previous victor.

"Aren't you-"

"Yes, I _am_ " Janet said. "I was best friends with Elegance Elysia, before she volunteered. And you kicked her out of the Career pack!"

"Look, she was the weak link!" Margaret said. "She got a _six!_ She passed out during training!"

"Wait, _what?"_

"Yeah, when Elegance was in her private session in front of the Gamemakers, she pricked her finger with the mace and fainted. She was really scared of blood, wasn't she?"

Janet's hard gray-green eyes stared angrily at her. "And you left her to die alone...she was deathly afraid of snakes, you know".

"She was?"

"Yeah. When I was fourteen, I got bitten by a venomous snake during an army crawl. Ever since then, that was her worst fear. And you left her to face that alone!"

"Look, the Gamemakers don't like loners! She was too boring for the audience! You know that yourself, right? You're also a victor!"

Janet was younger than Margaret, and she was a more recent victor. If they ended up in a fight, Margaret would most likely win. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

Just then, a group of Peacekeepers came by and tore Janet off of Margaret. They then handcuffed her, saying, "You are _not_ to harm a person on the Victory Tour!"

Margaret hopped onto the train and eagerly waved good-bye to District 1.

* * *

There was one last dinner in the Capitol that Margaret attended. None of these people seemed to bear any grudge against her; in fact, they positively adored their most recent victor. But as Margaret looked into the cheering crowds, she knew that she would be back very soon, and she would _not_ enjoy that visit. That would be when she started selling herself to those people. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.

After an elegant dinner of foie gras, Margaret found herself in the bathroom, throwing it all up. She just couldn't handle that fact that she would have to become a hooker. Even so, she managed to stagger back onto the train for her final visit.

Margaret arrived back at District 2 at around two in the morning. She was given a room at the train station's hotel for the next several hours. Then, in the morning, facing the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, she faced the people of her homeland.

"People of District 2, I was born and raised here. I attended the Career academy just down the street. I feel that you people have really allowed me to grow as an individual, as well as in the Hunger Games. I didn't get to know Hades very well, but I don't regret ditching the Career alliance, because I do not know if, had I done that, I would be standing here right now. But I'll tell you this: I very much regret hitting him in the head with that giant brass bowl of fruit salad".

The crowd laughed at that, minus Hades's family. Hector and Sarah Blackett were still present, but his ex-girlfriend, Sophie, whom he would never know had broken up with him posthumously, was not present. She had clearly caught on to the fact that he was abusive, and left him. Good. Margaret had not completely meant it when she had said that about Hades. But she had had to say that, because that was simply just the way things worked in Panem.

After that, she stepped off of the stage and headed home.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap! There will be one more chapter about how Johan Bainbridge died, but, after that, _Labyrinth: The 63rd Hunger Games_ by SnowLucario is officially in the books! I still need 17 tributes for _Lorax_ , so I would really love those! I also intend to draw a map of the arena, which I will put on DeviantArt once it is finished. It might be before this chapter is up!**

 **Anyway, here are the final rankings:**

 **1st: Margaret (ThomasHungerGamesFan)**

 **2nd: Vixen (calebbeers21)**

 **3rd: Vair (Declan42)**

 **4th: Aurora (beauthg03)**

 **5th: Horatio (calebbeers21)**

 **6th: Bryson (beauthg03)**

 **7th: Leo (Me)**

 **8th: Conker (Me)**

 **9th: Hades (calebbeers21)**

 **10th: Anna (calebbeers21)**

 **11th: Elegance (WhyNotWriteFanfiction)**

 **12th: Siliconia (Me)**

 **13th: Eli (Thorn5502)**

 **14th: Wheat (AnimeAngst)**

 **15th: Cam (Embarrassed Elf)**

 **16th: Ted (calebbeers21)**

 **17th: Isabella (Me)**

 **18th: Em (Juud108)**

 **19th: Ash (calebbeers21)**

 **20th: Madi (Thorn5502)**

 **21st:** **Miri (Medicine Cat Of The Opera)**

 **22nd: Ira (divergentdinosaur)**

 **23rd: Apollo (ThomasHungerGamesFan)**

 **24th: Savanna (Shine4EverMore)**

 **Also, the last four obituaries...**

 **Horatio: The instant I saw this guy, I knew that he wasn't going to win. Not only that, but I would give him the most painful, gruesome, and humiliating death that I could think of. I told the creator this; after all, he gave me six tributes! Caleb was okay with it and said that even _he_ hated Horatio. It was very fun writing about how arrogant he was, and especially the time he was on his own at the beginning of Chapter 26. From the very beginning, I knew I was going to begin a chapter towards the end with the sentence, "Horatio figured he was invincible". His death was originally going to be far worse, but I figured that him pissing himself was bad enough. He's the guy you love to hate, and I'm glad he stuck around as long as he did. Even so, he was doomed from the start. Even he didn't get the worst death, though. That honor goes to...**

 **Aurora: I actually received her while I was at camp, from a letter from my mother (who managed all the submissions while I was out of town). I enjoyed working on her background of wanting to be a biological engineer in order to feed the people of her district. That would definitely gain some sympathy from the Capitol audiences. Given that, maybe it's better that she didn't win. Even so, I very much loved writing her into the story, and I gained a lot of praise from Beau (whom I've become pretty good friends with). He's definitely a cool guy, and I'd recommend checking him out. But, anyway, her death was also a great scene to write. That sure sounds like a terrible way to go out! And next year, Dax is going to join her! Unless he wins, of course.**

 **Vair: As I type this, Declan has yet to read, or at least, review, the actual Games part. He has a busy life outside of fanfiction, which I can completely understand. When he does read, though, I think he'll like the way I wrote Vair. Vair doesn't really have a "corruption" story. If you read Hoprocker's Hunger Games, one of her own characters goes batshit crazy on a killing rampage due to a parasitic infection in his brain that turns him into something he isn't. Vair Armani was just driven that way by paranoia, brought by being in an alliance of three at the final seven. I did like his character (with his interesting educational background), and I hope Declan does as well, when he gets around to reading this.**

 **Vixen: Another interesting character. I don't have too much to say about her right now, though. I really did enjoy her, though. She was the consummate survivor, who never killed anybody. In the end, that heat just got to her. I think that she will be surprised to find Jack with her, whatever there is after you die. They'll definitely have a lot to talk about her.**

 **Margaret: Congratulations, Margaret Malachi as well as Thomas for submitting her! In the end, I thought that she would make a good first victor. Careers don't win SYOTs very often, but I wanted to have one win this time, since things aren't all sunshine and rainbows in Panem (or in real life, either). I also enjoyed writing what happened after she won, and will continue to have parts for her in _Lorax._ Part of the reason I had her win was because I am very close to a Margaret in real life, although we don't call her that. I'm sorry that she has to sell herself to people in the Capitol, but that's just what happens when you win the Hunger Games, as well as being as attractive as she is.**

 **Throughout the whole of this story, I knew Margaret was going to win, ever since the middle of the reapings. I shifted the boot list around a lot, but the final five was always solid, because I had a specific mental image of how it was going to go. During the Games, I tried to give Margaret a quiet edit, and I let the blood mainly fall on the hands of Horatio, Hades, and Eli. She wasn't a major character until she ran away at the final ten. In this chapter, though, she sure got her time to shine!**

 **All right. Like I said, please read, rate and review. I hope that you have enjoyed this story, and continue to enjoy me for a long time to come.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **SnowLucario**


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